A 66-year-old drink-driver was found to be more than three times the alcohol limit after calling out the AA to repair her damaged wheel.

Elizabeth Minister, of The Street, Holbrook, had driven from the village to Bridge Street in Ipswich on November 17.

At around 2.25pm police were called by an AA repair man who reported he had gone to help a motorist and that she appeared to be intoxicated.

The vehicle was said to have a damaged its wheel when it hit a kerb.

When police arrived Minister was in the passenger seat of her Vauxhall Corsa.

A subsequent breath test showed Minister had 117 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.

Minister was disqualified from driving for 26 months by Ipswich magistrates after she admitted driving while over the legal alcohol limit.

Her solicitor David Allan told the court: “She is a woman of good character. She is a devout Christian.

“She just finds this utterly humiliating and shameful, not being at court so much as realising she has behaved in this way. She’s genuinely devastated.”

Magistrates heard Minister does voluntary work and runs a creative writing course from her home.

Mr Allan said his client was now “very frightened” of losing the structure in her life at her age which was a frightening prospect for her.

The court was told she had drunk to excess after a bereavement and there had been issues with alcohol, although there had also been periods of abstinence as well as periods of drinking.

Magistrates heard Minister had previously written to the court to adjourn her case as she was due to start treatment for her alcoholism.

In addition to her driving ban Minister was fined £300 and ordered to pay £85 costs, along with £30 to the victims’ fund.