DIVORCEE Alicia Turner drove when she had been drinking because she was "terrified" that her ex-husband was going to use violence against her, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Turner had suffered years of psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her former husband, John.

She had intended driving to the Clayton-le-Moors home of her fiance, where she said she would feel safe.

But the magistrates rejected an argument of special reasons why she should not be disqualified after hearing that she gave a reading more than three times the legal limit after being stopped driving on the M65 near Darwen.

Turner, 39, of The Meadows, Red Lane, Colne, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. She was fined £200 with £50 costs and disqualified from driving for 30 months.

Turner, who gave a reading of 118 against the legal limit of 35, agreed to be referred to the drink drivers' rehabilitation programme which, if completed successfully, could reduce her ban by up to 25 per cent.

Peter Wilde, prosecuting, said a police officer was on patrol in Accrington when details of a Renault Clio were circulated.

At about 10.30pm he saw the car travelling on the M65 westbound and followed as it weaved between lanes before leaving at junction four near Darwen.

The officer illuminated his stop sign but the Clio twice travelled around the roundabout at the end of the slip road before attempting to rejoin the motorway.

Daniel King, defending, said it was a high reading and his client accepted that her driving had been erratic because of the amounts she had drunk.

"She was under threat of violence and I will be asking you to consider whether there are special reasons for not disqualifying in this instance," he said.

Turner told the court that her ex-husband lived in Higgins Street, Colne, five minutes from her home. On the night of the offence she had collected their two children from school and taken them to his house where they were staying. She had agreed to stay because their son was not well and the couple started to argue about the past.

Turner said she started to drink because she was stressed and consumed three large bottles of cider. She said her ex-husband pushed his face in hers and started shouting. She believed it would end in violence and fled.

"He had used violence against me in the past and I decided to leave because I didn't want the children to hear us shouting and see any violence," said Mrs Turner. "The only thought in my head that evening was to be with my fiance, Robert Bolt."

Mr Bolt, of Hawthorn Gardens, Clayton-le-Moors, said he had witnessed the psychological effect her ex-husband had on Turner and said she was unable to move forward with her life because of him.