A WOMAN who crashed into petrol pump equipment while almost four-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit has received a suspended jail sentence.

Estate agent Tina Knowles drove on to her local garage forecourt where her silver sports car slammed into a pipe connected to the underground fuel tanks‎ only yards from the kiosk.

‎Knowles sat in the two-seater BMW Z4 slurring into a mobile phone, a court heard. Forecourt attendant Rebecca Roberts immediately ordered the petrol pumps be shut down as a precaution.

The large metal pipe used to release vapour from the underground tanks and prevent pressure build-ups at first appeared damaged, but was later found to be safe.

Knowles, 43, was arrested, and taken to Scarborough Hospital by police who feared she had alcohol poisoning. A doctor ordered her to be detained overnight.

The Eling petrol station in Middle Street South, Driffield, East Yorkshire, closed for public safety.

Beverley Magistrates’ heard that Knowles had escaped a ban last August for failing to provide a breath specimen while under suspicion of being drunk in charge.

‎Defending solicitor Rachael Davis said: “Mrs Knowles has had a problem with alcohol on and off for ten years.”

She said her client had had relationship difficulties in the past and used alcohol as a means of escape and coping.

She accepted it was a serious offence but jail would not help Knowles with her alcohol problems.

“She is remorseful,” she said. “It’s had a massive and significant impact on her.”

Prosecutor ‎Colette Dixon said the car had hit a substantial metal pipe when it shot across the forecourt at 8.45pm.

She said when Miss Roberts approached the car there was “a strong smell of alcohol” and it was obvious to her the driver was very drunk and slurring her words.

A breath test revealed 152 microgrammes of alcohol in breath. The legal limit is 35.

Knowles, of Skerne Road, Driffield, admitted drink-driving on Friday, February 13.

She received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and must attend an alcohol rehabilitation course.

She was banned from driving for 48 months and ordered to pay £85 court costs with an £80 surcharge.