Woman escapes prison sentence after driving on wrong side of road in Southampton

A mother-of-two has been banned from driving for two years after pleading guilty to driving dangerously on the wrong side of the road through a city centre.

Lauren Gould, 27, of Milborne Crescent, Poole, Dorset, admitted dangerous driving at Southampton Crown Court.

The court heard how she had driven for two miles from Southampton Central Train Station on the wrong side of the road, while under the influence of alcohol in the early hours of December 21 last year.

Gould narrowly avoided two head-on collisions and only came to a stop after a total of five miles when she was forced to by a tanker lorry which had stopped on the road.

Judge Peter Henry sentenced Gould to 10 months in prison suspended for two years, 180 hours of unpaid work, a rehabilitation requirement and disqualified her from driving for two years.

He said that it was "lucky" that she did not collide with anyone else as there could have been "catastrophic results".

He described her driving as "appalling" and "terribly dangerous" and told Gould that had it not been for her young children she would have been going straight to prison.

Pc Rebecca Hodge, of Hampshire police, said: "As the judge said in court, it was extremely lucky that no one was injured as a result of Gould's dangerous driving.

"We hope this sentencing will act as a deterrent to anyone who thinks they can get away with putting people's lives at risk by driving irresponsibly."