A woman who drunkenly smashed her car into a number of parked vehicles leaving her mother with a fracture of the spine has narrowly avoided immediate custody.

Amy Bolton spent the day drinking before getting behind the wheel of her VW Golf and setting off driving at high-speed.

The 35-year-old hit one car with so much force that it pushed it over a grass verge and wall, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jenny Haigh said the defendant left The Lion pub after having an argument with someone when she became rowdy.

The court heard how Bolton crashed her car into the Renault, causing so much damage that it had to be written off, before hitting a Hyundai parked on the roadside.

“The defendant tried to reverse the car but initially it didn’t move,” she said. “Eventually, the car moved and she drove away.”

The court heard how Bolton’s mother suffered a fracture to her spine as a result of the impact but she had not co-operated with the police.

One of the victims said the incident had left her feeling anxious adding that "it must have been some speed to have caused that amount of damage" to her car.

The Northern Echo: The Lion, Billingham, where Amy Bolton had spent the day drinking before crashing her carThe Lion, Billingham, where Amy Bolton had spent the day drinking before crashing her car (Image: Google)

Bolton, of Lomond Avenue, Billingham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving following her behaviour in October 2022.

David Ward, mitigating, said his client’s behaviour was an "aberration" after enduring months of misfortune culminating in her drunken behaviour.

“She can’t really explain what happened that night,” he added. “She had done something on that night which was an aberration.

“She did something she understands was not acceptable and injured other people, including her mother and niece.”

Judge Richard Bennett told the mother-of-three that it was concerns about her children’s welfare that was saving her from an immediate custodial sentence.

He said: “You drove off at speed, you lost control of your car and hit that vehicle with significant force to push to over the wall and verge – other vehicles were also damaged.

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“You didn’t stop, you reversed your vehicle and drove off. The resident came out and tried to record you leaving the scene.

“You had two passengers, your mother and your niece, and they both suffered injuries.

Bolton was sentenced to 16-and-a-half months suspended for two years.

She was also made subject of a 120-day alcohol abstinence order, told to attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and was banned from driving for two years.