Flushing drink driver Diane Brown has court curfew lifted to attend parties

A DRINK driver who injured a moped rider while twice the legal limit has had her court curfew altered so she can go to two parties.

Diane Brown was given a 12-week night-time curfew when she appeared before Truro magistrates on February 7.

However, last week magistrates agreed to alter it for the family events.

It comes just weeks after footballer Nathan McIntosh had his curfew, which was imposed for violence, changed so he could holiday in Thailand.

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Peter Chapman, chairman of The Magistrates' Association's sentencing committee, said they could alter a curfew "as they see fit" if it "clashes with work, a pre-booked holiday, a relative's wedding, or a job interview."

"The punishment imposed by a curfew consists of the number of days and hours on which the offender's liberty is restricted by having to be at home."

Brown, 55, of Trevissome Court, Flushing, said she wanted to stay overnight at her son-in-law's 40th birthday in Cheltenham, and attend her mother's 80th birthday party in Southampton.

The magistrates agreed, adding the lost three days to the order.

On January 10, Brown was seen swerving her car in Arch Hill, Truro, before colliding with a moped, injuring the rider.

Brown, a mother of four, admitted the offence.

She was ordered to stay at her home between 8pm and 5am daily during the curfew, and was banned from driving for 20 months.

A spokesman for the Campaign Against Drinking and Driving said: "The ban should not have been lifted. There should not be flexibility just so she can enjoy parties.

"It sends out a wishy-washy message to drink drivers.

"She should thank her lucky stars she was not sent to jail. What is the point of giving someone a penalty and then laying it aside? It is a nonsense."