Preston UCLan student who flipped car after enjoying wine at 30th party says she was moving it from car park over ticket fear

Tia Halsall, 21, of Mountbatten Close, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, had been moving her Fiat 500 from a pub car park to avoid getting a parking ticket, Preston Magistrates’ Court heard.

A test showed she had 56mg of alcohol in her breath - the legal limit is 35.

Prosecuting, Andy Robinson said police were called to South Meadow Lane at 2.30am.

He said: “ The officer had been told the driver had left the scene but he made fairly quick enquiries and arrested the lady within 20 minutes.”

Defending, James Ball said Halsall, who has been driving for a year, had drank two glasses of wine at 30th birthday at the Continental, and had been told not to leave her car on the car park overnight or she would get a ticket.

He added: “She foolishly made the decision to drive the car a few hundred yards away.

“She’s clipped someone’s wing mirror and then turned her steering wheel and it’s believed she connected with a car wheel.

“Apparently 15 mph is sufficient velocity to flip a car onto its roof.”

He said she went home from the scene as she was “very frightened”, her phone was smashed, and there was no one to help.

Halsall, who is in the second year of a Business and Marketing degree at UClan, got a 12 month ban, £92 fine, £30 surcharge, and £40 costs.

The chairman of the bench said: “It’s very sad to see someone of such a young age before the court.”