At about 10.40 pm on New Year’s Eve, the police received reports of a car being driven on the beach near the Rice Bowl in St Clement.
Centenier Rob Beaumont attended and saw a car stuck in soft sand with its headlights on. He watched a woman get out and walk along the beach toward the Hotel Ambassadeur. The Magistrate’s Court heard that he called out for her to stop but she kept walking and went up the stairs onto the road near the hotel.
The woman – Lucy Philippe (32), of Landfield Drive, Mont Millais – was arrested by another officer a short time later as she was walking along the road. When questioned she admitted being the driver of the car.
She failed a roadside breath test at 11.05 pm and at 11.30 pm she gave a breath sample at police headquarters which produced a reading of 75 mcg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 mcg.
When questioned by the police, Philippe said that she had drunk three Jack Daniels with Coke at her cousin’s house before going to a pub, where she had more drinks.
The court heard she walked home but then spoke to an ex-boyfriend on the phone and they had a heated argument. As a result, she got in her car and drove from Mont Millais to the beach at St Clement.
Advocate Alison Brown, defending, said that her client, who pleaded guilty, suffered from fragile mental health and had become unwell in September.
Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said that he was concerned about why Philippe was driving on the beach, and he ordered the preparation of a background report. The case was adjourned until 30 January for sentencing.
