UNIVERSITY lecturer Eileen Mary Roddy was more than twice the legal drink drive limit when she was stopped by police in the early hours of the morning.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Roddy had gone looking for her teenage son when he failed to come home by his "curfew" time but had earlier been drinking during a celebration meal with her husband.

Roddy, 46, of The Haven, Hurst Green, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

She was fined £400 with £60 costs and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Roddy, who gave a reading of 175 against the legal limit of 80 in blood, agreed to be referred to the drink drivers rehabilitation programme which, if completed successfully, could reduce her ban by up to 25 per cent.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said Roddy had spoken to her son, who was sitting GCSEs, about staying out late at night.

They had agreed what time he would come home and that night he had gone to a function at the village hall.

"The curfew time came and went and my client became concerned, more so because she believed her son when he said he would be in at a certain time," said Mr Church-Taylor.

"Her husband had already gone to bed and eventually, not wanting to walk down the lane on her own, my client got in her car and went to look for her son."