Woman was over the limit – and missing a wheel

A woman who had downed a bottle of wine drove for two miles without realising her car had lost a wheel.

Helen Williams, 43, finally ground to a halt in the middle of the road.

Police found her with the axle of her Fiesta buried in the Tarmac - minus the rear offside wheel. They had been alerted by other drivers in Highworth, Wilts.



Williams was more than double the legal limit. She admitted drink driving and was banned for three years and fined £400 by magistrates in Swindon.

Outside court, Williams, from Bampton, Oxon, said: "I don't know how the wheel came off. I didn't notice it while I was driving along. I only noticed it once the car came to a stop. It must have been caused by a flat tyre or something."

She had been drinking after a night shift.