A HOSPITAL doctor who drove with her three-year-old daughter in the car was found to be nearly three times the drink-drive limit.

Blackburn magistrates heard Dr Eve McKenna had been "pressured" into driving to her Whalley home by her estranged husband, who is a policeman.

But when she arrived at the address there was a police officer waiting after her husband made a phone call to his Lancashire colleagues.

McKenna, 38, of Whittam Crescent, Whalley, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

A charge of child neglect relating to the presence of her daughter in the car was withdrawn.

Dominic Howells, prosecuting, said police were notified McKenna might may be driving with excess alcohol by her ex-husband.

Officers who approached as she pulled up outside her home saw her daughter strapped in the passenger seat street.

“She provided a positive roadside breath test and a breathalyser reading at the police station of 91 against the legal limit,” said Mr Howells. The limit is 35.

Ian Huggan, defending, said his client’s estranged husband had been due to have contact with their daughter that weekend but had cancelled. She had gone to a friend's house intending to stay over.

“He then called her on the Saturday to say he could have the child, which initially caused problems,” said Mr Huggan. “He demanded she go home to meet him but then rang a colleague in the police force and an officer was waiting for her.

“It is an aggravating factor that her daughter was in the car but there is no suggestion there were any problems with her driving.”

McKenna Shewas fined £600 with a £120 victim surcharge and £85 costs. She was also banned from driving for 23 months.