A barmaid who was drove 'erratically' while five times the legal limit for alcohol has been spared of spending Christmas in prison.

Teeda Emma Sims, 30, was followed and filmed by witnesses weaving" over the road.

When she was arrested she blew a reading of 178mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath - more than five times the limit of 35mg,

Sims, of Long Drive, Coldham, Wisbech, pleaded guilty to drink driving at an earlier hearing and appeared at King's Lynn Magistrates' Court for sentencing.

One of the witnesses who followed her Toyota Rav4 said: "It was being driven erratically. At one point, I stopped and I drew alongside to see if the driver was okay."

The man's passenger then began to film as Sims pulled off, eventually stopping at The Five Bells in New Road, Upwell.

The witness's statement added: "She got out of her car and staggered inside. I remained there until police arrived."

Robyn Khan, prosecuting at King's Lynn Magistrates' Court on Thursday, said Sims had been given a bar staff job at the pub just a day before the incident on July 30.

Ruth Johnson, mitigating, said: "Right from the outset it has been made clear to Miss Sims that, in my view, this crosses the custody threshold.

Miss Johnson urged the bench to suspend any prison sentence as her client had taken steps to address her drink problem and "significant improvements" had been made since the offence in July.

"She's absolutely devastated by her behaviour. Her primary concern was the risk that she posed to other road users and accepts that she could have been in court for something entirely different," added Miss Johnson.

Presiding magistrate Louise Gayton told Sims: "This is an extremely serious offence. I don't need to reiterate the potential that it could have caused."

Sims was given an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and a minimum of a three year driving ban - given this was her second drink-driving conviction.

She was also given a community order with a 12-month alcohol treatment requirement and was ordered to pay a £122 victim surcharge and £85 costs