A woman was jailed for four months after lying to police that her car was involved in a crash because somebody stole her keys at a reggae music night.

The reality was that the 57 year old had drunk three pints of beer before driving herself the mile journey home.

When she lost control of her VW Golf, overturning and smashing into a parked car, she crawled out and ran home, terrified of being caught for drink driving.

PC Jamie Williams said: “I hope this sentence serves as warning to those drivers who think they can provide false details to the police, anticipating that it won’t be followed up.

“It is only by luck that someone wasn’t more seriously injured when she decided to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. The consequences could have been so much worse.

“I would urge people to report others who they may suspect of drink driving. It could save a great deal of heart ache, and even perhaps a life.”

Joy Wright, was at the Carlton Arms in Cambridge before deciding to drive home just after midnight on May 6.

She lost control and flipped her car onto its roof, smashing into a parked car, which blocked the road.

The sound of the collision was so loud it brought nearby residents out onto the street.

Fearing she would fail a roadside breath test, Wright crawled from her car and ran away from the scene, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

Wright managed to make it home but later admitted she had to sleep in her back garden as she couldn’t wake anyone to let her in, and had left her house keys behind in her crashed car.

Later that morning, Wright called the police and claimed her car had been stolen while she was in the pub.

Several days later she replied to a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) again repeating that her car had been stolen, and therefore she was not the driver when the crash took place.

On May 18 she admitted to police in interview that the theft of her car was a lie.

She told police she had drank two pints of Stella and a pint of Guinness and had ran away after the crash because she was frightened and stressed due to a number of personal problems, including two recent family bereavements.

Wright claimed she had a number of health problems and needed her driving licence for work.

Wright previously pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, fraud by false representation, failing to report an accident, failing to stop after an accident and perverting the course of justice.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (October 18) Wright was sentenced to four months in prison and disqualified from driving for 20 months.

• Police are asking for the public’s help to target motorists who drive under the influence of drink and drugs by using the confidential reporting line 0800 032 0845, available 24/7, or report online at https://www.cambs.police.uk/report/Report-Shared/Report-anti-social-driving.