A 61-YEAR-OLD woman has been banned from driving after being caught four times over the limit.

Police spotted Johanna Havlin’s car swerving over the lane in the road at the Warrix Interchange just before 1pm on October 21 and stopped her.

On speaking to her, officers could smell alcohol and carried out a roadside breath test which she failed after testing 88 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22.

Havlin appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week and admitted she had been drinking vodka for around 12 hours straight the day before - but insisted she had nothing to drink on the morning of the offence.

Defending Brian Holliman told the court: “She had gone out early with a family member and admitted that she hadn’t eaten anything and drank heavily until 1am.

“She went to bed and drove in the afternoon but she’s adamant she had nothing to drink in the morning. But she had been drinking vodka for about 12 hours straight.”

Mr Holliman told the court it was his client’s first driving offence of any kind and the first time she had ever been in court and pleaded with Sheriff Iona McDonald to avoid giving her a ban.

He said: “She understands the consequences and any ban will cause her difficulties. She has mobility issues following an injury to her ankle.

“Perhaps a drink drive education programme would be helpful as she does not appreciate how long it takes for alcohol to leave the system.”

But Sheriff McDonald disqualified Havlin from driving for 18 months and fined her £500. Her ban will be reduced by four months if she completes a drink drive education programme.