A WOMAN caught drink-driving after visiting a pub with friends has been banned from the roads.

Claire Beamish, of Court Orchard, Fownhope, admitted the offence when she appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Prosecutor Lesley Ashton said Beamish had been pulled over after police saw her Mercedes clip a kerb in Redditch on December 1.

Officers said she was unsteady on her feet and the 38-year-old was arrested after failing a breath test. A further test in police custody revealed she had 50 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Edmund Middleton, mitigating, said Beamish had moved to Fownhope to care for her father.

Her mother, who also has health issues, lives in Redditch.

"She had no intention of driving," Mr Middleton said.

"She had been at a pub with a number of friends, and they had booked a taxi. When it arrived, she realised she had left something in the pub, but by the time she had retrieved it the taxi had driven off, and one of her friends in the taxi had her phone.

"So she decided to drive, and got a short distance before she was stopped. This is not someone who has gone out on a bender. It was a very silly mistake."

Beamish was disqualified for 12 months, fined £80, and must pay £135 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.