A WOMAN got in her car when she was "blind drunk" and drove off without switching her lights on and was unable to see where she was going because the windscreen was covered in frost.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Alison Fish collided with a taxi coming in the opposition direction.

And district judge Jonathon Finestein told her she could consider herself lucky not to be going to prison straight away.

Fish, 34, of Staffa Crescent, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. She was put on probation for 18 months and disqualified from driving for three years.

Fish agreed to be referred to the drink drivers rehabilitation programme which, if completed successfully, could result in a reduction in her disqualification of up to 25 per cent. The court heard that Fish gave a reading of 79 against the legal limit of 35.

Wendy Shackleton, prosecuting, said that around midnight on Sunday, February 18, a private hire driver was travelling down Skye Crescent when he saw another vehicle coming towards him.

The car had no lights on and the windscreen was frozen over. The taxi driver swerved but was unable to avoid a collision.after the smash Fish remained in the driver's seat despite another female trying to pull her out and claiming that she was the driver.

Fish told police she had drunk a large amount of vodka and that she was so drunk she could not remember hitting another vehicle.

Stephen Parker, defending, said Fish was separated from her husband and going through a bitter divorce. On the night of the incident she had gone to a friend's house intending to stay the night.

"They had an argument and instead of walking home or getting a taxi she ran outside and jumped in her car," said Mr Parker. "The fact that she did not put her lights on and the windscreen was frozen over is an indication of the state she was in at the time."

District Judge Jonathon Finestein said Fish's actions could have had horrendous consequences: "You got yourself blind drunk and then set off in this car when you could not even see where you were going."

"I have considered a short custodial sentence, but because you have pleaded guilty straight away, you have no previous convictions, this is an isolated incident and you have been receiving psychiatric treatment I have decided against that option."

The woman who had tried to pull Fish from the car and take the blame, Colette Barbara Anne Burns, appeared in the same court later in the day and pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly.

Burns, 24, of Staffa Crescent, Blackburn, was given a conditional discharge for six months. Jonathon Taylor, defending, said Burns was drunk and had been protecting her friend.

"She realises it was a silly thing to do," said Mr Taylor.