Woman was seven times the limit when she collided with ambulance on the wrong side of the road

Nicole Abkemeyer recorded one of the highest ever readings in Scotland after the collision on a country road in the Borders last June.

The 36-year-old German national drove a van for a distance of 300 metres on the wrong carriageway before negotiating a bend and colliding with an ambulance which was coming in the opposite direction.

Both vehicles were damaged in the incident on the A6105 Duns to Chirnside road in Berwickshire on June 16 last year.

Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard that when the holiday park cleaner was breathalysed, she gave a reading of 155 microgrammes of alcohol, the limit being 22.

Abkemeyer of Billiemains Farm Cottages, near Duns, pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and drink driving.

Not guilty pleas to failing to comply with a breath test and a charge of child cruelty were accepted by the Crown.

Defence lawyer Stephanie Clinkscale said her client had turned to alcohol during lockdown, but added: “She has not consumed any alcohol since the commission of this offence. The risk of re-offending is low.”

Sheriff Peter Paterson banned her from the road for 18 months and ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Abkemeyer will need to re-sit the extended driving test.

She was also deemed suitable for the Drink Drivers Rehabilitation Scheme, which if completed successfully at her own expense will result in a 25 per cent reduction in the length of the ban.