A company secretary who got behind the wheel while more than three times the drink-drive limit has been spared a prison sentence.

Deborah Anne Forrest, 35 had been stressed after a minor operation where she cheated death, Burnley magistrates heard.

She had been drinking while telling her sister how grateful she was to have survived to be with her daughter, the court heard.

The defendant, of The Sidings, Colne, who is in the throes of a divorce, admitted driving with excess alcohol. She was banned for 32 months, fined £600 and ordered to pay £65 costs.

Cathy Allen, prosecuting, said police in Colne saw Forrest veering towards the kerb then to the centre of the carrriageway.

Officers followed her vehicle and stopped her on South Valley Drive. Forrest got out, was unsteady on her feet and smelled of drink. She gave a positive breath test and the lower of two tests at the police station showed 117 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath the legal limit is 35. She had no previous convictions.

James Young, defending, said that in January, Forrest had an operation, had an allergic reaction and was in a coma for 24 hours. It was thought at one stage she would not pull through.

Forrest went to see her sister after reflecting for the first time how close she came to death. The defendant had been drinking and decided to go for cigarettes.

She got in the car in a moment of madness she could not explain and had never been in trouble before in her life.

Mr Young said Forrest had not gone out intending to drink and drive. She had been devastated to find herself in a police station and would not be appearing in court again.

He added: "She puts it down to stress, how close she came to death and how grateful she was to be alive with her daughter. She wants to put this behind her, get through her divorce and start afresh"