Mum who drove from cocktail bar was so drunk she could only ‘shuffle on her knees’

A mum who drove home in her Porsche after drinking Pinot Grigio and tequila was so drunk she could only ‘shuffle on her knees’, a court heard.

Julie Wynn-Griffiths, 55, was spotted by a concerned motorist driving her £70,000 Macan SUV with the boot wide open on April 18.

She had spent her evening at the opening night of Aura, a cocktail bar in Wilmslow, roughly two miles from her home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

Police knocked on the door of the recruitment consultant’s cottage to find her slumped behind the front door.

Wynn-Griffiths tested three times the legal limit –  35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milliliters of breath – a court heard.

She admitted to drink-driving but claimed her drink was spiked with Rohypnol, a powerful sedative, by two men.

Wynn-Griffiths stressed to Crewe Magistrates’ Court that she would never knowingly drink and drive as she cares for her 31-year-old, who has autism.

CCTV footage showed the mum going to the bar three times before a man bought her a drink just after 10pm.

Wynn-Griffiths added: ‘I cannot remember anything after that,’ she said.

Prosecutor Simon Leong said that a man saw Wynn-Griffiths as she tried to get inside her car, which was parked at a BP garage, at 11.15pm.

He told the court yesterday: ‘She was unsteady on her feet, stumbling around and, in his opinion, visibly drunk.

‘The motorist saw her collapse onto his car, causing no damage, before getting back on her feet and then unlocking her vehicle.

‘In attempting to open the vehicle, the boot opened, which she did not notice. She then went to the driver’s seat and turned the ignition on. He (the motorist) moved his vehicle away for fear she may drive into him.

‘He then followed her, describing her as “being all over the place” and driving “over the central white line”.’

Even after Wynn-Griffiths parked, her boot was still open, the judge added.

Police said Wynn-Griffiths ‘shuffled herself on her knees into the living room’ as they arrested her.

She recalled feeling ‘sick’ and ‘anxious’ while in the police holding cell, symptoms consistent with taking a date rape drug, her counsel, Rob Kellock, said.

He added: ‘It is a very different scenario to someone knowingly, brazenly, drinking vast amounts of alcohol and choosing to get behind the wheel of the car. 

‘She is horrified at what she saw.’

But during sentencing,  JP Helen Jarman told Wynn-Griffiths: ‘We do not find your version of events credible.’

Wynn-Griffiths was fined £876, as well as £462 in surcharge, and given a 26-month driving ban.

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