A BINGE drinker from Wrexham who was more than two times over the drink drive limit when she crashed a car has been banned from driving for six years.

Julie McCulloch, 57, was serving a driving ban until 2020 when she lost control of the Ford Fiesta as she drove home from a friend's house in Oswestry at 5am on December 30.

Police officers came across the car embedded in the crash barrier at Halton junction near Chirk.

Wrexham Magistrates' Court heard that McCulloch had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs prescribed for her depression and driven despite her driving ban.

A series of family tragedies, including the death of her husband in 2016, proved to be the trigger for her reckless behaviour and district judge Gwyn Jones told her that she would have been looking at a lengthy custodial sentence had someone been badly hurt or killed in the crash.

He handed McCulloch, of Tryweryn Place, Caia Park a 20-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered she attend a 10-day alcohol treatment programme.

Prosecutor Justin Espie told the court that when she was asked whether she had sustained injuries she said "no", but on the way to the police station she began to complain of chest pains and it was later discovered she had broken her sternum and three ribs.

"She admitted she had been arrested for two drink driving offences previously and was a binge drinker since she had lost her mother, father and husband," said Mr Espie.

When McCulloch was tested at the station she was found to have consumed 184 mg in 100 ml of blood; the legal limit is 80.

She admitted drink driving, driving while disqualified and driving without third party insurance.

Probation officer Pamela Roberts said McCulloch had taken an overdose of the medication that she had been prescribed for her depression at the time of the offence.

"In the last few years she has lost several family members and she is struggling to cope," she said.

Emma Simoes, defending, said: "She has isolated herself and things have got on top of her, so she relies on alcohol."

The district judge also imposed a 26-week curfew from 9pm to 5am and said McCulloch would have to apply for it to be varied if it interfered with courses she was due to go on as part of her customer services job.

He also ordered she pay £85 costs and a £115 surcharge.