Drunk dinner lady drove with son in car (From The Argus)

Drunk dinner lady drove with son in car

6:31am Friday 15th June 2007 in

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A school dinner lady drove drunk down a city road with her 11-year-old son in the passenger seat of her car.

Bonita Blooman had more than four times the legal amount of alcohol in her body as she veered in front of traffic.

Yesterday she was warned she faced jail after she admitted drink-driving at Brighton Magistrates' Court.

Police and drink-drive campaigners today condemned the 47-year-old's behaviour.

The hearing came as Sussex Police revealed one in eight drivers they breathalysed are over the limit.

Blooman was arrested on Friday June 8 just after 10pm.

A patrol car followed her Ford Mondeo through Aldrington in Hove after officers spotted her driving erratically, the court was told.

They noticed the car had crossed the 'Stop' line while waiting at a red traffic light at the junction of Church Road and Sackville Road.

PC Jon Bennett and PCSO Elizabeth Yeo trailed Blooman down New Church Road and saw the car swerve into the opposite lane towards oncoming traffic.

She turned onto Portland Avenue before the officers finally pulled the car over on Olive Road.

When she stopped, the 47-year-old was so drunk they had to hold her up after she got out of the car.

Blooman did not make any statements in court.

The two police officers reported she did not seem to know where she was going or realise who they were when they stopped her car.

When they breath-tested her she had 144 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

She spent the night in the cells at the police custody centre in Hollingbury because officers decided she was not fit to be charged.

Originally from Crawley, Blooman has lived in her £285,000 home at Old School Place in Hangleton Road, Hove, since January 2006.

The mother-of-two was released on bail at about 9.30am on Saturday.

In court yesterday presiding magistrate Roy Simmons told her: "We regard this offence as so serious you may receive a custodial sentence."

She was disqualified from driving temporarily and the hearing was adjourned until a sentencing hearing at midday on Monday.

Inspector Mark Trimmer, of the Sussex Road Policing Unit, said: "It is very sad that people still take this sort of risk, even after all the work we have done to highlight the dangers of drink-driving.

"This was an extremely dangerous thing to do and highlights the sad fact that people are still prepared to take a gamble with their lives and the lives of others.

"You also have to question the responsibility of a parent who drives with such high levels of alcohol while their child is in the car. I hope the punishment fits the crime."

A spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Drinking and Driving said: "I am staggered that someone could get in the car and put their own child in such grave danger after drinking that much alcohol.

"Sometimes people go just over the limit by having two drinks instead of one, but there is no simply excuse to drive after drinking that much alcohol.

"The courts should use the full weight of the law against her. Drink-driving is a scourge on our society.

"We need to send out the message that it ruins lives and will not be tolerated."

Speaking after the case, Blooman admitted her behaviour was "stupid" after her court appearance for drink-driving.

She told The Argus a series of factors involving illness and family problems led to her "out of character" behaviour last Friday.

She said: "I would apologise to everybody, it was completely unacceptable.

"I can't take it back now. In retrospect of course I would.

"It was a one-off. It was a very bad day."

Blooman said she had been at a friend's house before she had attempted to drive the two miles back from St Aubyns in Hove to her home in Hangleton.

She said they had been drinking wine, but her friend had been pouring the glasses and she had not realised she had drunk so much when she got behind the wheel.

She said: "It's completely out of character.

"I have never done it before, and I have never been in a magistrates' court before.

"I'm very remorseful. It was a stupid thing to do.

"I regret it 100 per cent."

Blooman said her solicitor will offer a full explanation of the day's events at her sentencing hearing on Monday.

A breath-testing campaign against drink-drivers saw Sussex Police arrest 25 people this week.

Between June 4 and last Sunday, they tested 192 drivers.

Of those, 24 tested positive for alcohol and one for drugs.

The operation was part of a Europe-wide enforcement campaign.

Superintendent Paul Morrison, the head of Sussex Road Policing Unit, said: "Those who drink or use drugs and drive will be caught eventually.

"The risks these people pose to other road users mean that we will continue to target their activities outside of the National or European coordinated campaigns in our efforts to make the roads safer.

"In Sussex we have staff on duty 24/7 and our arrests for drink and driving offences have significantly increased as we now target routes and locations to ensure we capture those that choose to put their lives and those of others at risk.

"The message is simple - do not drink or use drugs and drive, otherwise you risk the full force of the laws available."