A drink-driver who was more than three times the limit has been handed a suspended sentence and banned from driving for five years.

Naomi Callister was arrested at her home after another driver reported seeing her swerving in the road and hitting a kerb.

As we reported in coverage of a previous court appearance, Callister’s driving was so bad that the other driver followed her home and at one point tried to block her from driving any further.

The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was sentenced to three months’ custody, suspended for two years.

Callister, who lives at Sound Road, Cregneash, was driving her Hyundai Terrican at Four Roads in Port Erin on July 20 at 6.55pm.

The witness driving behind her said that the Terrican was crossing the centre line in the road and nearly collided with another vehicle at one point and also hit the kerb.

They said they followed Callister and when she stopped, they pulled in front of her to try to block her from continuing.

However, Callister drove away again and the witness then followed her to her home in Sound Road and called the police.

Police arrived and were let into Callister’s home by a relative at 7.45pm.

They found Callister lying on a bed and she was described as slurring her words and had difficulty sitting up.

She told police: ’I haven’t drunk. I’ve just come from Southlands. I’ve done nothing wrong.’

Despite her claim to be sober she needed assistance to walk.

A cup and a bottle were found in her car which had residues of alcohol in it.

Callister then told police ’I need to show you something’, and pulled a pop bottle from her groin area.

She was searched and officers also found a Pepsi Max bottle, which was believed to have contained alcohol, in the breast area of her clothes.

At police headquarters she failed the breathalyser test with the reading of 113.

Callister gave two different accounts to police. At first she said she had drunk one litre of vermouth and half a small bottle of vodka, which a doctor said would be consistent with the 113 reading.

However, she also gave a different account saying she had drunk one litre of vodka and one litre of vermouth, but the doctor said this would have made the reading higher.

Callister told police she had not drunk prior to going to Southlands or while driving but had stopped at 7.05pm and then drunk.

She said that she sometimes swerved due to rabbits in the road.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood handed in a letter from the Drug and Alcohol Team (DAT) in relation to his client.

Mr Wood said: ’This court deals with real people with real problems. We don’t always deal with problems in life in constructive ways.’

The advocate pointed out ’difficulties’ mentioned in a probation report which he did not go into in open court.

’This is a lady who has not driven since the offence. She says she has embarrassed herself and her family.

’She accepted the standard of driving was poor but we are not dealing with a case where there has been an accident. She would say that her vehicle didn’t touch the kerb.’

Mr Wood went on to say that there had been post-driving consumption but Callister had accepted the 113 reading.

The court heard that she has no previous convictions.

Magistrates also ordered her to retake her test at the end of the ban and complete a drink-driving rehabilitation course.