Drink driver blames mouthwash

Although a Marton woman admits driving after drinking, she thinks her alcohol-based mouthwash may have ramped up her reading.

Just before 5pm on November 2, Cheryl Marie Butcher, 40, was travelling along Milson Line between Feilding and Palmerston North when other motorists reported her ''erratic'' driving to police.

She was seen crossing the centre line and driving slowly.

When police caught up with her she had a breath-alcohol reading of 1307 micrograms. The legal limit is 400mcg.

''[Butcher] had a young child and three teenage passengers in the vehicle,'' police prosecutor Sergeant Stu Oram told the Feilding District Court yesterday.

She said she had to drive her young son from Marton to Palmerston North to see his father.

Oram said Butcher did not mention her mouthwash at the time, but defence lawyer Richard Bedford told the court about it and said it could have affected the reading.

''On the other hand, she made it plain she had had some drinks and shouldn't drink on an empty stomach.''

Butcher, who has no previous convictions, will be sentenced in February.

- © Fairfax NZ News