A PSYCHOTHERAPIST who had been "outed" as a homosexual in court by his former wife has slammed her for "dragging his name through the mud".

Last month Gillian Clarkson, 43, of Trapp Lane, Simonstone, appeared before Blackburn magistrates and admitted driving while four times the drink drive limit.

Her counsel said she had gone through a "traumatic" divorce after her husband Michael said he was gay and moved to Manchester's gay village.

And when Clarkson this week appeared again before the court to be sentenced, her counsel said Mr Clarkson had been a heroin addict and had beaten her in front of their two children.

Mr Clarkson, who admits to being a reformed heroin addict for 10 years, said his wife had known he was bi-sexual when they married in the late 1980s.

In a letter read to court, Mr Clarkson, 43, who lives and practises in the Lake District, said: "I am sitting at home minding my own business and my name is being dragged through the mud because of things that happened more than seven years ago.

"My ex-wife is the one who was driving when she was in such a state that she couldn't stand up and with a three-year-old child in the back of the car.

"Perhaps she would do better to concentrate on her own failings rather than dwelling on our problems which, after all, are in the distant past.

"It didn't work out but the divorce was not traumatic.

"In fact we had a party to celebrate it and things only got nasty when there were issues over access to the children.

"To say I was violent towards her is pure fantasy."

Mrs Clarkson was made subject to a community supervision order for two years, with a condition she attend the drink impaired driver programme, disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to pay £60 costs.

The court heard that Clarkson gave a reading of 159 against the legal limit of 35.

Another motorist on Trapp Lane had to avoid a collision with Clarkson who was driving on the wrong side of the road.

When the driver returned a few minutes later he found Clarkson half in and half out of her car with the child in the back.

He removed the keys and called the police. John Greenwood, defending, said Clarkson did not blame the break-down of her marriage for her turning to drink but said it was a contributory factor.

He said: "The divorce wasn't too traumatic but there were access proceedings.

"The two children of the marriage witnesses their father assaulting their mother.

"The marriage broke down because she found out he was addicted to heroin.

"She did her best to get him off it but her attempts were unsuccessful.

"She also puts forward the fact that her ex-husband was a homosexual as a factor."

He said Clarkson was now getting help from her doctor with her alcohol problem.

"Despite her problem she holds down a good job with Marsden Packaging in Blackburn, looks after her children and her parents," he added.

Neil White, prosecuting, said Mr Clarkson had written to the court about the reference to his homosexuality being respon-sible for the breakdown of the marriage.

"On the last occasion there was no mention of heroin use or domestic violence and he may well take issue with those as well," said Mr White.