A 39-year-old businesswoman has lost her driving licence after failing to provide a specimen for a police officer.

Rachel Manning, of Main Road, Woolverstone, admitted the offence which occurred on April 19, when she appeared before South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court.

Prosecutor Colette Harper said a police officer was in a marked vehicle in the Woolverstone area when he saw Manning driving in a manner which gave him cause for concern.

Her car was said to have been swerving on the road.

The vehicle was stopped.

The court was told after six minutes of persuasion Manning took a roadside breath test.

The reading indicated she had 95 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.

However, when she was taken to the police investigation centre after her arrest Manning, whose Ipswich business employs six people, made no attempt to give an official breath sample on an intoximeter.

Graham Skippen, representing Manning, said his client had panicked after being stopped.

Magistrates were told she had suffered a number of traumas in her life recently and as a result was in poor health mentally.

Manning was banned from driving for 20 months and fined £800.

In addition she must pay £85 costs and £80 to the victims’ fund.