A SWEDISH mum claimed the stress of Brexit made her crash her car into a ditch – despite being nearly five times over the limit.

Johanna Jeppsson was found in her overturned vehicle near Kintessack in Moray on February 22nd around 8.50pm.

She was driven home and concerned onlookers called an ambulance, along with police.

Elgin Sheriff Court heard that officers found her car in the ditch and noticed she smelled strongly of alcohol.

Fiscal depute Alex Swain told the court that Jeppson, 50, had been drinking throughout the day and had crashed as she tried to visit a friend.

'TROUBLING TIMES'

She said: “She had red staining on her lips, her speech was slurred, pupils dilated and she was rambling.”

Jeppsson, of Ellands, Brodie, refused to give a breath specimen when asked and was arrested.

A breath test at the station showed she had 107 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.

Jeppson also said worry over the big EU divorce meant she was unable to apply for benefits leaving her in "catastrophic debt".

Jeppson’s solicitor Grant Daglish said his client had misunderstood the situation and had only refused to give a breath specimen due to shock and her ignorance of UK law.

He said: “This happened during a troubling time for her, as due to Brexit she was unable to apply for benefits which meant that she had to get a part-time job and was left in a difficult situation with catastrophic debt.

“She is not a UK citizen so cannot claim benefits and if she loses her licence today, she could become homeless.

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“She lives in a remote area of Moray so her licence is important to her, her parents are trying to assist her as much as possible but they live in Sweden.”

Jeppsson admitted refusing to give a breath specimen after a police officer suspected her of being in a road accident.

Sheriff Robert McDonald took into account her personal circumstances but told her the seriousness of her offence merited a ban.

He disqualified her from driving for five months and fined her £270.

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