A woman who crashed her car while drunk on the A420 has been told the incident involving children ‘could've been much more serious.’

Christina Anderson, of Elvard Road in Bristol, had been suffering from extreme pain due to dental issues on the day of the crash but said she was unable to get a dentist appointment.

On January 21, 2024, Anderson chose to drink whisky to relieve the pain of an exposed nerve in her mouth.

Hours later emergency services were called to the A420 at Chippenham because the 36-year-old had driven her Audi car which had two child passengers into a ditch.

“An ambulance worker raised concerns about Ms Anderson being drunk and partial breathalyser readings show she had between 62 and 73 microgrammes of alcohol in her system,” said prosecutor Keith Ballinger.

The legal limit of alcohol is 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath.

“She had travelled to Chippenham that day to pick up her XL Bully dog,” he added.

“The defendant had been suffering from toothache so drank several glugs of whisky.”

Defence lawyer Mark Glendenning added: “To try and get a dentist appointment is almost impossible at the moment. She is clearly distressed and accepts responsibility.”

The children who were in the vehicle at the time suffered no serious injuries, but chair of the bench of magistrates Dean Suckling warned that the incident "could have been much more serious.”

The Bristol woman pleaded guilty to the drink driving offence at Swindon Magistrates Court and has been disqualified from driving for three years.

She has also been issued a 12-month community order, fined £200, and ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £114 victim surcharge.