A 26-YEAR-OLD woman who crashed her car in the early hours of the morning was found staggering around with blood pouring from her face.

Blackburn magistrates heard a witness who stopped to help asked Carla Louise Burgess if she had been drinking and she admitted she had 'had a little bit'.

She later told police she couldn't remember anything about the incident.

Burgess, of Brook Street, Clitheroe, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. She was fined £120 with £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge and banned from driving for 22 months.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said a witness driving through Great Harwood at 5.42am came across a car which had clearly crashed, knocking over a sign post and a lamp post. She stopped to see if anyone needed help and saw Burgess staggering around at the back of her car with blood coming from her face.

"By the time the police arrived she had left the scene but they found her nearby," said Miss Allan.

Burgess gave a roadside breathalyser reading of 101 against the legal limit of 35. She was taken to hospital and a blood sample taken later revealed an alcohol level of 155 against the legal limit of 80.

Richard Prew, defending, said Burgess had parked her car before going out with a friend. She intended sleeping at her friend's house and had no intention of driving.

"She remembers being in a pub at around 2 am but after that her memory disappears," said Mr Prew. "She can't say how she ended up in the car or how she crashed it."