A driver who was stopped for erratic driving tried to explain the smell of alcohol in her car by attributing it to cooking beef bourguignon, a court revealed.
Victoria Chesworth was observed weaving between lanes in her Toyota Yaris on London Road in Stoke before being pulled over by police who detected the scent of alcohol on July 18.
Due to her inability to complete a breathalyzer test, she was taken to the police station where a drug test revealed she was over the legal limit.
At the North Staffordshire Justice Centre, it was disclosed that the 46-year-old had significantly high levels of cocaine and its breakdown product benzoylecgonine in her bloodstream, well surpassing the legal thresholds.
During the court proceedings, Chesworth claimed that the officers mistook the smell of wine for alcohol due to her preparation of a beef bourguignon dish earlier in the evening.
According to prosecutor Sherrie Henry, the incident occurred late at night when officers noticed Chesworth’s car driving erratically on the A52.
Chesworth, a resident of Blurton, admitted to two counts of drug-driving and expressed financial and transportation struggles resulting from her driving ban, pleading for leniency from the magistrates.
She tearfully explained to the court that she believed she was following a one-way system and the police van behind her was too close, leading to her swerving. She attributed the alcohol smell to her cooking and mentioned her difficulty with the breath test due to a past stroke.
Magistrates imposed a 17-month driving ban, a 12-month community order with rehabilitation days, and ordered Chesworth to pay £239 in costs.
