A PENSIONER caught drink driving twice in two years has been banned from the road for 40 months.

Janet Boxall had been drinking white wine with a friend at her home in Musgrave Close, Dovercourt, when she drove her Fiat Panda to the nearby One Stop shop in Oakley Road to get more booze and some food.

Whilst at the store, the 74-year-old hit a post and a passerby called the police and took the keys out of her ignition to stop her driving away.

When police arrived, a roadside breath test showed Boxall had 60mcgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Boxall, who was banned from the roads in 2015 after a charge of driving with excess alcohol, admitted drink driving when she appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

Lucy Osborn, mitigating, said Boxall cannot explain why she did not walk the ten-minute journey to the shop.

She said: “She feels ashamed and upset at what she has done and accepts it is entirely her fault.

“There was no damage to her car or the post.

“The reason she has come to rely on alcohol is because at the beginning of August she was out shopping and was pick pocketed.

“This may seem like a minor incident but it had a huge impact on her and when she talks about it she becomes tearful.

“She uses alcohol in times of struggle and uses it as a crutch to get her through difficult and tough times.

“On this particular occasion she was with a friend who drinks an excessive amount of alcohol and she believes she was led astray.

“The irony is the shop is only a ten-minute walk away.

“Even now with the benefit of hindsight she cannot explain why she did not walk.

“Given her age and the inevitable ban, it will probably mean her driving days are now over.”

The court heard Boxall was also having marital issues at the time of the incident on August 27 but she and her husband have since reconciled and are determined to make their relationship work.

During her last ban, Boxall completed a drink driving awareness course to reduce the length she was disqualified for.

But this time magistrates declined to offer her the chance to complete the sessions because she had not heeded the warnings.

As well as her 40 month ban, Boxall was slapped with a £170 fine and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.