A drunken 34-year-old Oswaldtwistle woman passed out at the wheel of her car while she waited for traffic lights to change.

Blackburn magistrates heard a police officer had to bang on the window to rouse Karen Maden, who was slumped over the steering wheel.

She later gave a breathalyser reading of 111, more than three times the legal limit. Maden, of Fielding Lane, Oswaldtwistle, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. She was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £85 costs. Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said police received a report at 2.55am of a woman slumped over the wheel of her car at traffic lights in Lonsdale Street.

“The car was in the central carriageway with the engine running,” said Miss Allan. “It would appear she had passed out at the wheel while waiting for the lights to change.”