"There was an argument and she made a stupid decision": Addiction charity boss caught boozing behind the wheel THREE TIMES in two years

A woman at the top of a charity that helps drink and drug addicts is now seeking their help herself after being collared drink driving for the third time in just two years.

Eliza Loftus, 26, was hauled to court after she crashed her Ford Ka in a tree while on her way home from a night out. A roadside drug test revealed she was almost three times over the alcohol limit, just a year after she completed a 12 month road ban for other drink and drug driving offences.

Loftus was caught emerging from a bush saying 'I'm sorry' after police arrived in the scene on April 7 of this year. Inquiries revealed she had previously been convicted of drink driving in April 2022 and just a month later was found guilty of driving whilst under the influence of cannabis.

READ MORE: "I am living in a waking nightmare": An October day in Israel... and the shockwaves felt in Manchester

At Crewe magistrate court, Loftus, from Middlewich, Cheshire admitted drink driving and was banned from the roads for 40 months. She is now getting help for mental health issues from the Be Well Stay Well charity of which she has been marketing director and chief fund raiser since 2022.

The incident occurred at 12.24am on April 7 a year after Loftus who also earns £30,000 year as a policy advisor and researcher into Sustainability, Emissions and Net-Zero issues for the trade association Ceramics UK completed a 12 month road ban for the drink and drug driving offences. The court heard she had been on a night out with friends but decided to drive the two miles home following an argument.

Miss Tara Thomas, prosecuting, said: “Police responded to a reports of road traffic collision and that the driver was possibly intoxicated.

“Upon arrival the officer saw a white Ford Ka crashed sideways into a tree on the side of the road. The officer was alerted by a member of the public that the driver was hiding in a nearby bush

“The officer approached the bush, approximately 20m away from the crash, and shouted ‘Police. Come out.’ “A female, who is the defendant before the court, emerged and said, ‘I am sorry.’ She was asked if she was the driver and she said, ‘Yes’. She said: ‘I have been trying to call my boyfriend.’

“The officer noted the defendant was unsteady on her feet and he could smell intoxicants on her breath. A roadside breath test was requested, that was over the specified limit and she was therefore arrested. The defendant does have a relevant previous conviction from April 2022 and there is a drug driving conviction from May 2022. This is the second offence of drink driving in a ten-year period.''

A blood tests confirmed Loftus who lives with her parents and younger brother had 215 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, the legal limit being 80mg.

Her barrister Patrick Kelly said: “There is a genuine apology and expression of remorse from her. This is a lesson learnt, a major lesson learnt, something that is never going to be repeated. This is going to have a huge impact on her and others, especially on family, bitterly disappointed as she is with herself to find herself here.

“She uses alcohol but only on occasional weekends. By 2023 she was diagnosed with moderate depression and anxiety and she takes medication for that but has struggled with it since about 2014. On the night in question, she had been at her partner’s pub.

“She had been drinking there when two friends came and they decided to go elsewhere. They went elsewhere and one of her friends had a bit of a go at her. There was an argument and she made a stupid decision to go home and not take a taxi.

“She was going around the bend when she lost control. It was a sideways collision, the front offside colliding with a tree. She was doing about 40 mph when she lost control. The airbags went off and she got out of the car.

“She went into a panic. She started to ring friends and her boyfriend and waited for them to come along. A resident came out and asked if she wanted an ambulance but she declined that and said she was waiting for her friends. It is right that she was hiding behind a bush but that was due to her panic and nothing else. When police called her she immediately came out.

“She explained that she was struggling with her mental health and officers were so concerned the officers got a mental health nurse to talk with her and calmed her down. She graduated from university five years ago and is an experienced chain support consultant. She then began working for Ceramics UK and does research for new policy. Her employers are fully supportive of her and will not lose her job.

“She also works with charity Be Well Stay Well, supporting people with addictive personalities or who have fallen into addiction. She has now turned to them herself and has received assistance from them.''

A probation officer told the court: “We have talked about her drinking and she is certainly not alcohol dependent. She does not drink every day. Sometimes she goes out and has one or two then stops. Every now and then she will have far too much.''

Loftus was also ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work. JPs refused her the option to take a drink drive awareness course which would have produced the ban by a quarter, as she had done the course following her previous drink drive conviction.

Chairwoman Annie Walford said: “The offence was aggravated by the accident that happened and of course your previous record. The court offered the course two years ago and it was undertaken two years ago so it is not going to be offered again.”