A POWYS woman who was nearly four times the limit and had her keys taken off her by staff at a convenience store has avoided jail.

Helen Rudman, 41 and of Dinas Fach in Llansantffraid Ym Mochant, had previously pleaded guilty to drink driving at Welshpool Magistrates Court on August 27 this year.

Magistrate Stephen Pembroke heard that on January 22, 2024, Rudman had driven along the A495 to the Spar in Llansantffraid when she was over the limit from a previous night of drinking.

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She had been to buy vodka and sweets from the store at around 4pm when she hurt her ankle walking back to her car.

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The court heard that she called for help in being driven home as her ankle injury meant she could not get behind the wheel, choosing then to drink gin from a bottle she had in the car.

Staff were concerned and called police who arrived to find Rudman slurring her speech and unable to stand.

She refused to take a breath test in the car park and was arrested, later recording a score of 139mg per 100 millilitres of breath, with a legal limit of 35mg.

Owain Jones, defending, told the court that his client was ‘ashamed and full of remorse’ and she was of previous good character.

He called for a suspended sentence for Rudman and told the magistrates that she had been addressing her issues with alcohol almost immediately.

Mr Pearson told the defendant: “We were quite concerned to hear of the limit you were at when driving and you were a danger to other road users.

“We’ve looked at this carefully and we feel with your early guilty plea, it falls below a custodial sentence.

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“We will deal with this with a high-level community order.”

Rudman was given a 24-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity days and was fined £200 with a further £114 victim surcharge and £85 costs and £399 overall.

She was banned from driving for 36 months but if she completes a drink-driving rehabilitation course by August 2025, she will be eligible to re-apply for her licence in October 2026.