A DRINK driver at the wheel of a van which veered off a dual carriageway and hurtled down an embankment, flipping several times before hitting a fence, has been banned for three years.

Vonna Lea Hardy had drunk two glasses of wine before getting behind the wheel of a red Vauxhall Vivaro on Sunday, October 21, last year, Peterlee Magistrates’ Court heard today (Wednesday, May 15).

Three other women were riding with her.

Hardy, 39, later described by a police officer as smelling of intoxicants and being slightly undsteady on her feet, and two of her passengers, aged 21 and 38, were slightly injured.

The fourth woman, aged 21, was seriously hurt and airlifted to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI).

At the time, the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) said all four were extremely lucky not to have sustained much more serious injuries.

The accident happened on the eastbound A690 between Gilesgate and Belmont, near Durham City, shortly after 4.30pm.

Clare Irving, prosecuting, said Hardy had failed a roadside breath test before she failed to provide a sample for a blood test at Durham police station.

Hardy, of Mill Inn Cottages, Rainton Bridge, Wearside, who had a previous conviction for drink driving, admitted failing to provide a blood specimen for analysis and driving without insurance.

Gerry Scott, for Hardy, said she had tried to provide a blood specimen at the police station but a medic had ordered she be taken to hospital, where a dispute with a police officer began.

Hardy accepted she had a “problematic relationship with alcohol” but was taking positive steps to address this, Mr Scott continued.

With her supportive parents in court, Hardy was given a 12-month community order with supervision, banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay £200 court costs and a £60 surcharge.