By Staff Reporter

Last updated at 12:30, Wednesday, 23 January 2013

A mum-of-three who abandoned her car after a crash had spent the day drinking in the pub.

Twenty-seven-year-old Madonna Howard was driving her Renault Scenic in Denton Holme, Carlisle, when she collided with another car as it came over Nelson Bridge earlier this month.

Carlisle magistrates court heard how Howard, who has three children and is now expecting a fourth, wandered off from the scene of the crash.

She later admitted to police that she had spent the day in the pub.

The court heard that the other driver, also a woman, was turning towards Charlotte Street when the Renault came from Denton Street and hit her at around 8.30pm.

She was “very shocked”, she said, and told police the driver of the other car walked away, leaving her car in the road.

She looked drunk, the court heard.

Howard, of Greenacres, in Wigton, was arrested by police as she was walking away from the collision.

She failed a roadside breath test but refused to provide a further one at Durranhill police station.

She told officers that she had been in the pub all day on the day of the accident.

Defence solicitor Gail Heard told the magistrates that Howard was going through a few emotional issues at the time and had some difficult personal circumstances to deal with.

She also suffered from a bi-polar condition and had tried to get medical help but couldn’t get an appointment.

She said she was a single parent of three children and is expecting a fourth.

Magistrates adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports to be prepared.

Howard, who admitted failing to provide a breath test and failing to stop after an accident, will return for sentencing on February 12.

She was banned from driving in the meantime.

First published at 11:44, Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk