A drunk-driver who crashed into a wall on Christmas Day while more than three times the legal limit has been given a suspended sentence.

Sylwia Jarzabek was also given a five year driving ban after she failed a breathalyser test with a blood reading of 246, above the legal limit of 80.

Magistrates sentenced the 49-year-old to three months’ custody, suspended for two years, and also gave her a two year supervision order.

We previously reported that Jarzabek, who lives at Broadway in Douglas, was at the Comis Hotel in Santon on December 25, where she was working as a chef.

She then drove her Suzuki Grand Vitara on the New Castletown Road, but at the junction with Saddle Road, hit a stone wall.

Her vehicle came to a halt against some traffic lights.

An off-duty police officer was at the scene and called for uniformed officers to attend.

When they arrived, they reported that the defendant was smelling of alcohol, and she failed a subsequent roadside breathalyser test.

After being taken to police headquarters, a sample of blood was taken, which later produced the result of 246.

Defence advocate Emily Brennan asked for credit to be given for her client’s guilty plea and the fact that she had no previous convictions.

Ms Brennan said that Jarzabek had been dealing with unresolved grief at the time of the offence, and accepted that her behaviour had been reckless.

The advocate referred to a probation report, which had assessed the defendant as a low risk of reoffending and a low risk of harm to others.

Ms Brennan said that Jarzabek was someone who needed support, and that she had used alcohol as a coping mechanism, but was now on a waiting list for counselling.

Magistrates also ordered the defendant to take an extended driving test at the end of her ban and to complete a drink-driving rehabilitation course.

She must also pay £125 prosecution costs within two months.