Drunk driver who went wrong way down M5 spared jail

Dorothy Denny was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine

A drunk driver who caused a head-on collision while driving the wrong way along a motorway has been spared jail.

Dorothy Denny, 65, drank vodka for six hours on 4 October last year before deciding to drive to the garage to get more alcohol at about midnight.

Denny, of Bredon, Worcestershire, drove for two-and-a-half miles on the M5 before colliding with an oncoming car.

She admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and a charge of drink driving at Gloucester Crown Court.

A judge, who ordered Denny to pay a £10,000 fine, said it was "amazing" no-one had been killed in the incident.

Denny was also given a 20-month suspended prison sentence and banned from driving for 10 years at a sentencing hearing on Friday.

A blood test taken some hours after the crash found she had 142 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams.

'Life put on hold'

The court heard that Carly Pope had less than a second to react when she saw Denny's Mini heading towards her.

Denny had joined the motorway via an exit road at Junction 8 near Strensham, Worcestershire, close to the Gloucestershire border and headed south on the northbound carriageway.

Ms Pope was able to swerve a little but still hit the oncoming car.

The athlete and personal trainer suffered a broken arm, bruising and whiplash injuries.

The court heard her injuries had affected her ability to work and had ruled her out of two weightlifting competitions she had hoped to win.

In a victim personal statement, Ms Pope said: "My life has effectively been put on hold, which has also affected me financially."

'Extremely remorseful'

A driver in the northbound carriageway, Lorenzo Milani, attempted to alert motorists by beeping his horn and flashing his lights and he also called the police.

He reported the Mini driving erratically, such as slowing to speeds of 30mph and then back up to 60mph.

Amber Morrell, defending, told the court Denny was "extremely remorseful" for the incident.

She said Denny had turned to alcohol following trauma in her life but had abstained from drinking since the crash.

Ms Morrell said Denny had realised her mistake when she joined the motorway but did not know how to correct it.

"She increased and decreased her speed as she tried to work out how to correct the situation," Ms Morrell said.

"This was not a case of dangerous driving with a flagrant disregard of the rules."

But the judge, Recorder Neil Millard disagreed.

"She is so drunk she drives on the wrong side of the motorway," he said.

"This is compounded by her continuing to drive without stopping and moving to the hard shoulder."

Passing sentence, Recorder Millard said: "I've seen the CCTV footage of the collision and quite frankly I am amazed you were not killed. I am amazed that others were not killed."

He told Denny she had avoided being sent to prison "by the smallest of margins".

Recorder Millard added: "You may be shocked by the level of the £10,000 fine but you are alive and are very fortunate not to be taken down into the cells and on your way to prison."

He ordered that Denny should take an extended re-test if she decided to begin driving again after serving her disqualification period.

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