Whisky-soaked cake put woman over the limit
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman caught driving over the alcohol limit has escaped a driving ban after claiming she had eaten Christmas cake laced with whisky.
A woman caught driving over the alcohol limit has escaped a driving ban after claiming she had eaten Christmas cake laced with whisky.
Julie Wynne told magistrates at Nottingham that she had not realised the cake she had eaten with three cups of tea had been soaked in half a bottle of the spirit.
Later that same evening she was stopped by police and gave a positive breath test despite claiming to have drunk just two halves of lager.
Ms Wynne, 42, said that on the evening of 3 January this year she visited an elderly relative of her fiancé, who offered her the cake which she described as "rich" rather than tasting of alcohol.
Two hours later she and her fiancé, Phil Hutchinson, went to a pub, where she said she drank two lagers.
But police stopped her just after midnight saying she had been veering across the road. When tested she gave a positive sample. A blood test taken two hours later showed she had 86mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80.
Ms Wynne said she was baffled as to why she was over the limit until she studied the cake recipe and spoke to Diane Sims, a friend who had made it.
Ms Sims told the court she had used half a 70cl bottle of whisky for the 12in cake.
David Baldock, an expert on blood-alcohol levels, said Ms Wynne's reading was the equivalent to her having drunk one-sixth of a bottle of whisky.
When asked if he had ever given evidence in a similar case, he said: "Not a cake. I have done one where someone had eaten a jelly."
Ms Wynne pleaded guilty, but yesterday asked not to be disqualified from driving because she was unaware the cake had contained alcohol.
The magistrates accepted her argument and instead endorsed her driving licence with five penalty points. She was given an absolute discharge.
After the hearing, Ms Wynne refused to comment. But her solicitor, Bill Soughton, said: "I think what happened here was legal history. I don't think there has been a case like it.
"Julie is delighted it's all over and done with. She is a very law-abiding and anti-drink-driving person," he said.
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