Boozy Amazon worker collided with another car during U-turn in Sutton

Katarzyna Chron had a 'high level of impairment' when she crashed trying to perform a U-turn on Mansfield Road, on May 3, magistrates heard.

When she was tested at the roadside she was nearly three times over the legal limit, said prosecutor Rebecca Williams.

But she refused to give a breath sample at the police station and repeatedly said she needed to go to the toilet.

Arjun Madahar, mitigating, said: "This is completely out of character for her. She came to the UK from Poland in search of a better life.”

On the day in question she received news of a bereavement back in Poland and heard her mother was ill.

"She felt unwell and tried to pull over," Mr Madahar said. "She had an alcohol testing kit in her vehicle and this gave her the impression she was not over the limit.

"She became very stressed at the police station, never having been in that situation before."

Chron starts work at 5am and relies on her vehicle to make the eight-mile journey to the Amazon warehouse, Mr Madahar added.

She is effectively going to lose her job because there is no public transport at that time, the court heard.

Chron, 30, of Main Street, Shirebrook, admitted driving without due care and attention, and failing to provide a specimen, when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

An interim disqualification was imposed and a pre-sentence report was ordered. The case was adjourned until June 16.