A DRINK-driving single mum who cracked under the stress of caring for her son and 87-year-old mother is banned from the road today.Janice Richardson, an insurance broker in Ipswich, was disqualified from driving for three years by Lowestoft magistrates.

>

A DRINK-driving single mum who cracked under the stress of caring for her son and 87-year-old mother is banned from the road today.

Janice Richardson, an insurance broker in Ipswich, was disqualified from driving for three years by Lowestoft magistrates.

The 46-year-old, of Wordsworth Close, Saxmundham, had admitted being drunk while behind the wheel when she appeared at a hearing in December.

Last week she also appeared at South East magistrates in Ipswich to plead guilty to driving while disqualified, failing to give a breath specimen and driving without insurance, while on bail awaiting sentence for the original offence.

Richardson was remanded in custody until this week's sentencing as a result of defying the Lowestoft court.

Her latest arrest came after police stopped her following a report from members of the public, who saw her driving erratically in Woodbridge.

Richardson was originally convicted of drink driving by Lowestoft magistrates last month after she was caught driving with 277 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood - the legal limit is 80.

At her Ipswich hearing, Tanya Thomas, mitigating, said Richardson was a woman of previously good character who had started to drink because of stress endured in her home life.

Miss Thomas said: “She lives with her son of 12 and mother of 87 and she is the sole carer of both of them.

“The reason she has resorted to drink is because she has been having a very difficult time looking after her mother. She realises that is no excuse but she has been very distressed by the situation she finds herself in.

“Her mother had a heart attack last year and is not very mobile at the moment at all. She needs personal care. She (Richardson) is waking up in the night to clean her mother and she wakes up not knowing what she is going to find in the morning.

“Her mother has recently told her she is going to go into residential care but without her resources they won't be able to rent their current accommodation.”

Miss Thomas added Richardson works from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and also works alternate weekends to support her family.