A MOTHER -OF-THREE drove the wrong way along a dual carriageway for a mile while more than two-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit, a court heard on Thursday.

Police officers on patrol on the A38 at Kingsway, Gloucester, saw Loretta Hill, 34, heading south on the northbound carriageway at 6am on 11th May, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

They followed her along the carriageway so they could use their lights and sirens to warn oncoming traffic, said prosecutor Julian Kesner. Two motorists had to swerve to avoid her.

When Hill finally stopped at the McDonald's roundabout at Moreton Valence she was crying and told officers "I know, I know, I've been so stupid."

Officers breathalysed her and she gave a reading of 91 mcgs - more than two and half times the legal limit of 35mcgs.

Hill, of Tolsey Gardens, Tuffley, admitted charges of dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol on her breath.

Recorder John Trevaskis sentenced her to a nine months community order with supervision and banned her from driving for two years. He also ordered to undergo a sixteen day specified activity programme.

He said that after her ban she will have to pass an extended driving test before she gets her licence back.

"You had clearly consumed far more alcohol than was consistent with either good health or good and legal driving," said the Recorder.

"You embarked on a course of driving which could have had disastrous consequences not only for you but for other road users.

"It is a matter of some relief that it took place in the early morning and that the police were on hand to see what was going on and to contribute to bringing this course of driving to an end before more serious consequences ensued."

Jon Holmes, defending, told the court Hill had a domestic argument and had been drinking all night before deciding she had to get out of the house.

"This has brought to a head some significant issues she has," he said. ""She had already been receiving help from some agencies but this , I would hope, would bring help from all agencies."

Mr Holmes said she was not in any danger or need of protection when she decided to drive - but the decision was against a background 'past experiences which played on her mind' that night.

Urging a non-custodial sentence, he said she has three children aged 10, 13, and 16, the oldest of whom is autistic.