A MOTORIST who was more than double the alcohol limit 'deliberately' refused to give a specimen of breath to police officers, a court heard.

South Cumbria Magistrates' Court heard Brittany Holmes was facing jail after she refused to cooperate with police having been suspected of drink driving.

The court was told Holmes, 24, was found to have been significantly over the limit when tested at the roadside in Barrow on May 17.

She had 86 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, over the legal threshold of 35.

But when she was taken to the police station she refused to give another official sample, the court was told

Prosecutor Peter Kelly said Holmes could face being jailed.

Mr Kelly said: "I would suggest that this is towards the higher end of the sentencing guidelines.

"I've watched the footage from the police station process and I would classify it as a deliberate refusal.

"There is a reading of 86 at the roadside and there is some evidence of poor driving.

"Then there's the antecedent history and the defendant being subject to a suspended term of imprisonment before the judge at Preston Crown Court.

"She was subject to a community order.

"This is a sentence that could in itself carry custody, whether or not the suspended sentence should be activated, unless an alternative to immediate custody could be found."

Holmes was convicted of assaulting two police officers last year.

The court heard on December 21 2022, Holmes assaulted PCs Whyke and Kenny and damaged a Cumbria Police van.

And in March she was ordered to wear an alcohol tag after she was found guilty of assaulting a man.

Magistrates said Holmes, of Barrow's Rawlinson Street, should be sentenced at Preston Crown Court, where she previously received her suspended sentence.

She is due to hear her fate on July 22.

Chair of the bench Mike Halshaw told Holmes: "This in itself is a serious matter which may or may not result in custody."Magistrates banned her from driving on an interim basis ahead of the sentencing hearing.