Pregnant woman caught drink driving night before due date
A pregnant woman was caught drink driving with her daughter in the car a day before she was due to give birth.
Police stopped Brooke Burton at Ringles Cross, Uckfield, during a summer crackdown on drink and drug driving.
The 26-year-old revealed that she was due to go into hospital the next day to give birth so instead of immediately arresting Burton, officers called an ambulance and she was taken to hospital to be assessed.
Video footage of the stop shows officers speaking to the mother and explaining that they wanted to take her to hospital to make sure she was ok.
In the car with Burton were two adults who appeared drunk and her seven-year-old daughter.
She had 45 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of her breath.
Burton, from Uckfield, pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence. She was released on bail to appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court, where she was banned from driving for 14 months, fined £255 and ordered to pay £235 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas, of Sussex and Surrey roads policing unit, said: "The footage shows how our officers have to balance making arrests with ensuring suspects get the right medical treatment when they need it.
"As soon as they discovered that Burton was heavily pregnant they realised that she needed to go to hospital to make sure both her and her unborn baby were ok.
"Burton selfishly decided to get behind the wheel after drinking and put not only her life and the lives of other road users at risk but even that of her daughter. Even if she had not been drinking, Burton should not have been driving as she had neither a licence or insurance."
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