A DRINK-driver who “deliberately” rammed her partner’s parked car after they split up has been handed a suspended prison term.
Hayley Marie Nicholson, 30, was three times the legal limit when she crashed a Vauxhall Vectra into Trevor Marnock’s unoccupied Ford Mondeo in Maryport on July 8.
Carlisle Crown Court heard from a prosecutor how she caused the collision “deliberately” while it was being washed by Mr Marnock’s son on the Glasson industrial estate.
The 4-10pm incident – caught on CCTV – resulted in damage being caused to both vehicles, but no injuries were sustained. It was said to have taught Nicholson – a woman without any previous convictions who had made a “full admission when quizzed by police – a “salutary lesson”. She and Mr Marnock had since reconciled, the court heard.
Judge Peter Davies suspended an eight-month jail term for 18 months and ordered Nicholson – tearful throughout the court hearing – to complete 80 hours’ unpaid work.
But Judge Davies told the defendant, of Crerar Close, Maryport: “It is not just drink-driving. It is damaging somebody else’s car, and you could have caused catastrophic injury.”