Ambulance driver who crashed car while drunk was fleeing "aggressive" internet date in Doncaster

Deborah Fogarty-Walker is now facing the sack from Yorkshire Ambulance Service after a court heard the mum of six was almost two and a half times over the drink drive limit, according to The Sun.

She had been enjoying an off-duty drink with her latest dating match, when he turned nasty and she jumped into her car to get away from him, a court heard.

The 46-year-old crashed her Peugeot into the back of a lorry on the Ouse Bridge on the M62 near Goole in the early hours.

Magistrates in Beverley were told that the lorry driver felt a jolt to the rear of his HGV and after pulling over and getting out he discovered Fogarty-Walker had crashed into the back of his vehicle.

He called police and she was arrested.

Her solicitor Theresa Clark said the conviction would cost her client “the job that she loves” with Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

She continued: “She knows all about the consequences of drink-driving having been to the scene of many an accident where drinking has been involved.

“What happened on the night in question, she was travelling to Doncaster, and she has fallen foul of the pitfalls of internet dating.

“She’d had two drinks, one of which was a glass of wine and the other was a vodka cocktail which had been mixed for her.

“The man she was with became aggressive and she began to fear for her own safety. She decided that she would just try to get as far away as quickly as she could.”

The court heard that Deborah, who has been banned from driving for 17 months, loved her job

Fogarty-Walker, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, admitted drink driving on October 15.

The court heard that she had started using alcohol as a “coping strategy” on her days off following the recent deaths of two family members and a problem with one of her children.

Ms Clark continued: “She feels she’s let herself down. The impact of what she has done has hit her extremely hard.

“The consequences of the inevitable disqualification are devastating for her. She has sought help for her problems.”

Fogarty-Walker was banned from driving for 17 months and ordered to complete 125 hours of unpaid work over the next year.

Presiding magistrate Ray Sampson, said: “There is little else we can say, other than to say that the circumstances you found yourself in were upsetting and regrettable.”

An Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We are aware of the court case involving a member of staff and can confirm that appropriate disciplinary action is underway.”