A would-be heavy goods vehicle driver has been given the chance to keep her dream alive after she narrowly avoided a driving ban for failing to go a breath test.

Amy Franklin was spotted sitting in her car by police officers but without the engine running or the keys in her possession.

Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court heard how the 29-year-old had no recollection of being spoken to by the police as she was in the midst of a psychotic episode.

The mother-of-three accepted that she refused to give a specimen after she was shown footage from a police officer’s body-worn camera.

Liz McGowan, prosecuting, said: “There is no allegation that there was any attempt to drive, she was in charge of the vehicle.

“She was sitting in the vehicle; the keys were not with her and the engine was not running.”

Franklin, of Morris Crescent, Thornley, County Durham, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis whilst in charge of a vehicle.

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Jaxon Taylor, mitigating, said his client said she was in the middle of a psychotic episode and had no recollection of speaking to the police or refusing to give a sample for analysis.

The court heard how Franklin was midway through retraining as a HGV driver and hoped to continue into employment.

Professor Richard Scothon, the chairman of the bench, said: “I think you realise you have made a hell of a mistake and you could lose of that.”

The magistrates endorsed her licence with ten points, so she narrowly avoids losing her licence, and ordered her to pay £152 in fines and court costs.