Sarah Hay, of Rhandirmwyn, failed to provide a breath test six times because she was sucking the breathalyser machine instead of blowing into it

Sarah Charlotte Hay, of 4 Argall Avenue, Rhandirmywn, admitted failing to provide a specimen of breath four times at her home during the early hours of October 20 and then twice at Llanelli Police Station.

Llanelli magistrates were told how officers visited the 46-year-old after receiving reports of a suspected drink-driver at Cilycwm at 11.30pm on October 19 – seven miles from her home.

The witness gave police the car’s registration and the vehicle was traced to Hay.

Vaughan Pritchard Jones, prosecuting, said Hay was reported to have been seen “falling to the ground, getting up and then getting into her vehicle and driving off”.

Officers arrived at her home at 12.15am but initially failed to get an answer.

“Her vehicle was parked outside and the hood was still warm,” Mr Jones told the court.

Hay eventually answered the door.

“When they went into the house the police could see a tall glass on the coffee table containing a clear liquid,” Mr Jones said.

“The glass was quite full.

“She was clearly drunk.

“She was trying to talk but was incoherent due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed.”

She eventually told the officers that she had been drinking gin since returning home, but when they searched the living room, kitchen and dining room, were unable to locate any open bottles of alcohol.

“There was nothing to indicate how much she had drunk since arriving home,” said Mr Jones.

“She agreed to provide a sample but would not blow into it properly – she kept blowing and then sucking on the bag.

”The officers gave her three more attempts but she kept sucking rather than blowing.”

Hay was arrested for failing to provide a specimen and taken to the police station.

While travelling to the police station, Hay told the officers she had drunk a glass of Buck’s fizz at 9am, but nothing since then.

She was given two further attempts to perform a breath test at the station, but failed to blow into the machine on both occasions.

Anthony O’Connell, defending, told magistrates Hay was “full of remorse”.

“She believes she was giving her best effort to blow into the specimen reader but was not able to do it,” he said.

He said Hay had gone to her former partner’s home where a row broken out between her and her ex-boyfriend’s family.

He told magistrates that the claim Hay had fallen to the floor was incorrect.

“She was pushed rather than fell,” he told the court.

Mr O’Connell said Hay suffered from anxiety and depression and had become increasingly lonely since moving to Carmarthenshire from her family home in Sussex.

Magistrates banned her from driving for 17 months and sentenced her to a 12-month community order.

She was also ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and pay a £150 court charge, 85 prosecution costs and a £60 victim surcharge.