A WOMAN who crashed her car on the way home from the morning school run was found to be more than double the legal drink drive limit.

Blackburn magistrates heard Jennifer Grimshaw admitted to police that she had been drinking vodka until the early hours of the morning.

Grimshaw, 51, of Albert Street, Darwen, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. She was made subject to a community order for 12 months with 60 hours unpaid work, banned from driving for 20 months and ordered to pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge. Grimshaw gave a reading of 87 against the legal limit of 35.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said police were called to Watery Lane in Darwen at 8.35am following a report of a road traffic collision. The car driven by Grimshaw had collided with two other vehicles.

"She admitted she had been drinking vodka until 1am because it was the first anniversary of her best friend committing suicide," said Miss Allan.

Shoaib Afzal, defending, said his client had no previous convictions.

He said she had been drinking the night before as an emotional coping mechanism because of the sad death of her friend a year earlier.

"In the morning she felt she was OK to drive and certainly would not have put her son's life at risk by deliberately drink driving," said Mr Afzal.