A drunk driver who got behind the wheel in search of a snack after a lonely birthday celebration has faced court.
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The 41-year-old woman, who The Courier has chosen not to name because she avoided conviction, blew a 0.20 alcohol reading on the morning of September 15 last year.
She was brought to police attention after she collided with the curb at the intersection of Grevillea Road and Malmesbury Street in Wendouree, and drove into the front yard of a nearby home.
The police prosecutor told the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Monday the police interviewed her after the crash.
"In a police interview she said her reason for driving was to purchase a packet of chips from a store," the prosecutor said.
"When asked how many drinks she'd had, she said 'I don't know'."
"When asked what time she had started drinking, she said 'midday', police told her 'it's 10 o'clock'."
Defence for the woman told the court it was the woman's birthday the day before.
"She instructs that she had been drinking all night," the defence said.
"It was her birthday, she'd drank an entire bottle of spirits to herself.
"She was all alone on her birthday and drank the whole bottle."
The woman had no prior criminal history and the court heard alcohol had become an issue for her in the past two years because of the stressors of the pandemic.
"Her rehabilitation prospects should be counted as good," the defence said.
The woman was assessed for a suitability for a community corrections order and was found to be a low risk of reoffending.
Her licence was disqualified for two years and she was placed on a seven month corrections order with the condition to complete alcohol treatment.
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