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| Motorist Katy Homer spared jail after M5 wrong-way drive | Motorist Katy Homer spared jail after M5 wrong-way drive |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A woman who admitted drunkenly driving the wrong way on a motorway for four miles has been spared jail. | A woman who admitted drunkenly driving the wrong way on a motorway for four miles has been spared jail. |
| Katy Homer of Clent View Road, Halesowen, in the West Midlands, was stopped by police near junction one of the M5 at West Bromwich. | Katy Homer of Clent View Road, Halesowen, in the West Midlands, was stopped by police near junction one of the M5 at West Bromwich. |
| Cameras showed her driving into the path of lorries on the southbound carriageway on 4 December. | Cameras showed her driving into the path of lorries on the southbound carriageway on 4 December. |
| Care assistant Homer was given a four-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, at Wolverhampton Crown Court. | Care assistant Homer was given a four-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, at Wolverhampton Crown Court. |
| She was also sentenced to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for three years, and ordered to pay £200 costs. | She was also sentenced to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for three years, and ordered to pay £200 costs. |
| Judge Michael Dudley told her she had committed a "very serious driving offence". | Judge Michael Dudley told her she had committed a "very serious driving offence". |
| Single mother-of-three Homer had pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and dangerous driving at a previous hearing. | Single mother-of-three Homer had pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and dangerous driving at a previous hearing. |
| Speaking after sentence outside court, she said she was "sorry" for her actions. | Speaking after sentence outside court, she said she was "sorry" for her actions. |
| Lorry driver 'scared' | Lorry driver 'scared' |
| Footage of the incident played to the court showed oncoming lorry drivers flashing their headlights as Homer, who was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit, drove her Vauxhall Astra north along the southbound M5. | Footage of the incident played to the court showed oncoming lorry drivers flashing their headlights as Homer, who was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit, drove her Vauxhall Astra north along the southbound M5. |
| Prosecutor Alka Brigue told the court one lorry driver was scared when Homer's car swerved on to the hard shoulder to avoid crashing into him. | |
| She said: "It was his daughter's birthday - he envisaged that somebody would be killed, and that he might never see his wife and daughter again." | She said: "It was his daughter's birthday - he envisaged that somebody would be killed, and that he might never see his wife and daughter again." |
| The court heard traffic police first tried to stop Homer as she twice went the wrong way at the roundabout at junction one. | The court heard traffic police first tried to stop Homer as she twice went the wrong way at the roundabout at junction one. |
| They eventually halted her by stepping out into the road and flashing their torches, the court was told. | They eventually halted her by stepping out into the road and flashing their torches, the court was told. |
| In mitigation, Malcolm Fowler told the court Homer's friends, family and her GP had said her behaviour was "wholly out-of-character." | In mitigation, Malcolm Fowler told the court Homer's friends, family and her GP had said her behaviour was "wholly out-of-character." |
| He said she had been dealing with a depressive illness that could have been affected by a "disastrous relationship" with a former partner. | He said she had been dealing with a depressive illness that could have been affected by a "disastrous relationship" with a former partner. |
| Insp Dave Southam, of West Midlands Police, said the incident could have been a lot more serious. | Insp Dave Southam, of West Midlands Police, said the incident could have been a lot more serious. |
| "Thankfully, due to the time of day, the motorway was not as busy as it otherwise might have been and so no significant harm was caused to others," he said. | "Thankfully, due to the time of day, the motorway was not as busy as it otherwise might have been and so no significant harm was caused to others," he said. |