A WOMAN has been jailed after drink-driving on the A64 while four and a half times the legal limit.

Michelle Charlesworth, 49, of Ingramgate, Thirsk, pleaded guilty to drink driving when she appeared yesterday at Scarborough Magistrates Court.

North Yorkshire Police said she was stopped in her Mercedes-Benz on the A64 near Flaxton by officers at 9.30pm on Saturday February 17, due to her erratic driving.

"When asked to complete a roadside breath test, she provided a reading of 158 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - four and a half times the legal limit," said a spokeswoman.

"She was arrested and taken into custody, where she returned a further reading of 167 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milliliitres of breath.

"Due to the high reading she returned and the serious nature of the offence, magistrates sentenced Charlesworth to 18 weeks in prison."

She said Charlesworth was also banned from driving for 36 months, extended by nine weeks to take her custodial sentence into account and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.

Roads policing officer Traffic Constable Jamie Lord said the 167 reading Charlesworth returned that night was 'completely shocking.'

He said: "How anyone can get behind a wheel with that amount of alcohol in their system beggars belief.

"Michelle Charlesworth not only consumed a large amount of alcohol that evening and got behind the wheel, she also drove erractically along one of the busiest A roads in the region.

"It is only through sheer luck and the quick thinking of the member of the public who witnessed her driving and alerted us, that a serious collision was avoided.

"I hope the sentence handed to Charlesworth serves as a stark warning to those who think that they won't get caught or that they will only face a slap on the wrist and a fine - a prison sentence is a very real possibility, as this case clearly demonstrates."