A mum who had been drinking was caught driving on a motorway with her young child in the car because she wanted to buy him a slide.

Bernadette Halliwell was spotted behind the wheel of a BMW on the M6 in Staffordshire on March 19.

Wigan Magistrates’ Court heard that, when spoken to by police at Keele services, she failed to provide a breath specimen.

And just two months after she received an interim ban from the roads, she was caught driving through Bolton on the way to work.

Parveen Akhtar, prosecuting, told how police received a number of phone calls from the public at 6.30pm on March 19

“A BMW was moving badly on the M6 motorway,” she said.

“Officers say it was driving in a way that may indicate the driver was under the influence.”

When police spoke to the driver, 31-year-old Halliwell, at the service station they noticed her 15-month-old son was in the car.

She was taken to a police station where, once more, she failed to give a breath sample.

Then, on May 9, at 9am police received a tip-off about woman driving a BMW who was banned from driving.

But when officers police approached the vehicle on Bolton Road Halliwell claimed to be her sister, Catherine Halliwell. She later admitted her true identity.

Halliwell, of Bolton Road, Kearsley, pleaded guilty to failing to give a breath sample, being drunk on the highway while in charge of a child and driving while disqualified.

Karen Morefield, defending, said that Halliwell had drunk two glasses of wine while eating a bowl of pasta and had spotted a slide she wanted to buy for her son.

“She felt fit to drive,” said Ms Morefield.

She added that Halliwell got lost on her journey and, at one point, her son’s bottle fell onto the floor which affected her driving.

She added that Halliwell did not provide a sample due to suffering from mouth ulcers but admitted that she failed to declare the medical reason.

Ms Morefield said that in May Halliwell was working as a carer and had to give medicine to a patient with cerebral palsy at a specific time and so drove despite already being banned.

She added: “With hindsight she accepts she took a risk that wasn’t worth it.”

Magistrate James Fisher said he had read Halliwell’s “heartfelt letter of apology” and sentenced her to a community order which includes 140 hours of unpaid work plus 25 days of rehabilitation activities.

Halliwell was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered pay court costs of £265.