Faith McNab-Thompson, of Red Lodge, banned from driving for three years after being ‘extremely reckless’ on A11 and refusing tests

A ‘dangerous’ driver who was ‘oblivious’ to police requests to pull over and stopped abruptly on the A11 before refusing drug and blood tests has been banned from being behind the wheel.

Faith McNab-Thompson, 26, of Fennel Drive, in Red Lodge, was ‘clearly in no fit state to drive’, her speech was slurred and she was unsteady on her feet, said police who found her driving an Audi A1 in Barton Mills in the early hours of March 24.

They were alerted after she was seen in Mildenhall veering across the road where she almost hit a traffic island and was driving at 30mph in a 60mph zone.

McNab-Thompson appeared at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on Friday, where she was banned from driving for three years.

She pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

At just after 2.45am the Audi was found by officers on the A1065 towards the Fiveways roundabout in Barton Mills.

The police car got behind the Audi and they signalled McNab-Thompson to pull into the services, said a Suffolk Police spokesperson.

However, she continued past the turning for the services and entered the A11 towards Thetford.

Officers drove alongside the Audi on the dual carriageway in an attempt to attract McNab-Thompson’s attention, at which point it came to an abrupt stop in the live carriageway, said the spokesperson.

They deemed the driver was not fit to continue driving and had to close one lane of the A11 behind the Audi so they could speak to McNab-Thompson.

Officers found her to not be fully alert and she took several minutes to exit the vehicle when requested to do so.

Her speech was slurred and she was unsteady on her feet.

McNab-Thompson was asked to perform a roadside breath test which she passed, but when the officers asked her to take a drug test, she refused to do so and was arrested.

She was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre, where she refused to provide a sample of blood for analysis and was subsequently charged.

PC Georgia Goreham, of the Mildenhall Response Investigation Team, said: “Faith McNab-Thompson was clearly in no fit state to drive and the dangerous manner in which she was handling her car is frightening to think about.

“She was oblivious to our initial requests for her to pull over and to then perform what was essentially an emergency stop on a dual-carriageway was extremely reckless.

“It was fortunate that this was the early hours of the morning with little other traffic around, otherwise someone could have been very seriously injured.

“I am grateful to the members of the public who reported her driving to us and most likely prevented a nasty collision from occurring.”

She was given a 12-month community order, requiring her to undertake rehabilitation activity, and a three-month curfew requirement, applicable between 8pm and 7am each day.

McNab-Thompson was told to pay costs and charges totalling £199.