A MUSSELBURGH woman who had drank a double vodka claimed she was forced to attempt to drive away from an Edinburgh nightclub due to fearing for her safety, a court heard.

Shelley Crowe was leaving Hype nightclub at Fountain Park in Edinburgh in her car when security staff refused to open the car park safety barrier after they had been alerted that she had been drinking alcohol.

Crowe, who was in the car with a friend, said she had concerns over her safety and had decided to use her vehicle to leave the area at the city’s Dundee Street last year.

Fiscal depute Mark Keane told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that Crowe and a friend left the club and were seen entering her red vehicle by a member of staff at about 1.15am on January 15 last year.

The fiscal said: “As a result, the security staff were contacted and they kept the barrier closed.

“Police were contacted and they attended. She was within the car and the car was stationary when police arrived. The engine was not on but the keys were in the ignition.

“She told police officers she had drunk a double vodka at around midnight but nothing else since.”

'Relatively low reading'

The court was that Crowe, of Craighall Drive, was then taken to St Leonard’s Police Station in Edinburgh, where she provided a breath sample of 36mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22mg.

Solicitor Iain Tweedie, representing Crowe, said that the 24-year-old was a single mother who had no previous convictions.

Mr Tweedie said that Crowe had “panicked” due to safety concerns that she and her friend had after leaving the premises.

He said she “should have locked her car” but decided to drive after the “attention her and her friend had been receiving on that night”.

The court was told that Crowe had provided “a relatively low reading” and would now have to give up her part-time cleaning job due to losing her driving licence.

Sheriff Julius Komorowski said that Crowe “should have contacted security on site to deal with the situation” instead of attempting to drive away from the area.

The sheriff imposed a 12-month driving ban but said that he was allowing Crowe to take part in the drink-driving rehabilitation course which, if she successfully completed, would see the ban reduced by one quarter.

Crowe was also fined a total of £120.

Crowe appeared in the dock at the Capital court on Monday and pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle with 36mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath at Dundee Street, Edinburgh, on January 15 last year.