A 39-YEAR-OLD woman who had an 'astronomical' amount of alcohol in her body has been jailed after a road smash.

Donna Marie Dinsdale, of Wincham Close, Widnes, pleaded guilty when she appeared at Vale Royal Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Dinsdale, who has no previous convictions or cautions, admitted the charge of driving with excess alcohol after officers found she was nearly five times over the drink-drive limit.

Lawrence Bestow, prosecuting, told the court: 'There was a collision on April 14 at the Sandiway Shell garage on the A556. PC Andrew Connor arrived at 2.50pm and saw a damaged Corsa. He was told by another officer the accident had been caused by another vehicle which had just been stopped in Hartford.

'The officer went to Hartford and spoke to the defendant. He told her he could smell intoxicants on her breath and she stated that she had a glass of wine at 8am that day. It was, by now, 5.03pm.'

A breath test revealed Dinsdale to have 167mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Henry Hills, defending, told the court his client was of previous good character but admitted: 'I am not sure what the answer is. The pre-sentence report is saying that my client is in denial with regard to the nature and the extent of her drink problem.'

He added: 'This is, by any stretch of the imagination, a serious offence, the level of alcohol is astronomical. I have rammed home the consequences of this offence to my client.'

Magistrates said they took into account Dinsdale's previous good character and early guilty plea, but added: 'Nevertheless, the high level of alcohol posed a danger to the public.'

Dinsdale was sentenced to 28 days in prison and disqualified from driving for four years. She has lodged an appeal but was denied bail.