A motorist followed a drunk driver and gave police regular updates on her whereabouts until officers caught her almost 90 minutes later, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
But defence lawyer Eilidh Macdonald told Inverness Sheriff Court that Linda Kerr, 51, needed help to conquer her drink problem.
It was about 10.15pm when former care worker Kerr, of Killen, Avoch, was spotted by another driver on the A9 towards Milton of Leys,
Fiscal depute Ross Carvel said another vehicle trying to overtake had to swerve to avoid a collision.
He added: “She ground to a halt at a green light then straddled both lanes going round a roundabout. The motorist followed her to Milton of Leys shopping centre where she swapped cars after staggering across the car park.
“The running commentary to police continued and at 10.22 police saw her vehicle but she was not driving.
“They traced her in the other car about 11.40pm and a breath test showed she had 142 mgs of alcohol in her breath when the limit is 22mgs.”
He asked Sheriff David Sutherland to forfeit her £12,000 car.
But the Sheriff refused this request after hearing from Miss Macdonald, who said her client had “suffered great difficulties over the years” and developed a problem with alcohol.
“She has taken steps to address it but this is a lady who needs help. She lives in a comparatively remote location, she has lost her job and plans to move into the Inverness area with the funds from the sale of her car.”
Kerr was sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid work, was placed under social work supervision for two years and banned from driving for two years.
