A RETIRED primary school teacher drove the wrong way down a dual carriageway, during a trip out to get wine.

Police found an empty bottle of Chardonnay in Rosalind Davis' car, after she was pulled over on the A449, near Worcester.

A member of the fire service spotted the 60-year-old's Hyundai heading towards him when he was returning home from work, the court heard.

Magistrates were told that the man pulled over to let the defendant pass and then moved onto the other side of the road to follow her.

Colette Orton, prosecuting, said the witness later saw Davis driving towards him again, prompting him to pull her over.

She said police officers were called to the scene and found an empty bottle of wine in the defendant's car.

They also recognised that she was under the influence of alcohol, the magistrates were told.

The court heard that officers then took the defendant to Worcester Police Station, where she failed to complete a breathalyser test because she was not blowing into it properly and did not create a seal around the mouthpiece.

Mark Turnbull, defending, insisted that this was not deliberate and said that Davis, of Church Road, Crowle, near Worcester, was quite intoxicated.

He said: "She deeply regrets what's happened and is thankful that no-one was hurt. This could have been so much worse. She has very little, almost no, recollection of what happened.

"It wasn't until this morning when I was able to go through the papers with her that she became aware she had been stopped on the road for travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway.

"When officers attended the roadside they didn't even attempt to make a roadside breath test. They felt she was in no state to do that."

Police described the defendant as stumbling and speaking incoherently.

Mr Turnbull added: "The only thing the officers can make from her is the words 'I'm [expletive]'."

He said the defendant started drinking because of a long-running family dispute, which culminated in her being advised to stay away from a charity gala that had been organised by one of her children.

Davis was banned from driving for 20 months and told to pay a £350 fine, £85 in costs and an £85 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis in Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday.

The offence took place on January 24.