A DRINKER almost five times the drink-drive limit escaped a jail sentence after magistrates were told she was now getting help.

The Burnley bench heard that student Alison Leach smashed into a parked van and then hit some metal railings before a member of the public took her car keys from her.

Leach, who drank to try and solve her problems was terrified of the prospect of going to prison, the court was told.

The defendant, 30, of Spring Bank, Whitworth, admitted driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop after an accident, last December 13. She was given 180 hours community punishment, banned for three years and told to pay £50 costs.

Carl Gaffney, prosecuting, told the court a witness saw Leach, behind the wheel of a Renault Clio, hit the parked vehicle for "no rhyme or reason."

She then drove off , turned into a street and hit the railings. Another member of the public took her keys out of the ignition and police were called.

The defendant was very apologetic. When an officer spoke to her her eyes were glazed and she smelled of alcohol.

Leach gave a positive roadside breath test and was taken to the police station where she gave two more specimens. The lowest reading of the two showed 163 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit is 35. Leach had no previous convictions and a clean driving record. Jeremy Frain, defending, said Leach had been driving 12 to 13 years and had never been before a court before.

She did not stop her vehicle because she panicked. The distance between the accident site and the address Leach was going to was a short one.

Leach, who was studying for an MA in English at Manchester Polytechnic, drank to try and solve her problems but alcohol had made them worse.