A MICHELIN star restaurant manager has been banned from the roads for getting behind the wheel after drinking too much at the end of a shift.

Ellie Dimes, manager of the Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa restaurant, was caught drink driving by police last month.

Her silver BMW was spotted on the A4 near Chippenham on March 20, just before 1am, where officers said it had been swerving towards the centre white lines.

Prosecutor Kate Prince told Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning (April 27) that Dimes was pulled over and provided a positive reading. She was taken back to the police station where she blew a reading of 61 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath; the legal limit is 35.

Representing the 25-year-old, Liz Highams said the “situation is very upsetting for her”.

She explained how she was on the way home from work and that part of her role at the Michelin-star restaurant, located near the village of Thickwood, is to taste wine ordered by diners to ensure it is not corked.

“As it is expensive wine, it is typically stronger than what I might buy in the supermarket,” Ms Highams told the court. However, this would not normally be more than a single glass.

She went on to say that a colleague was also leaving so she had drunk a glass of champagne in the bar, and also gone to a pub for one drink with colleagues.

“This is completely out of character, she is very remorseful, shocked with her behaviour and extremely disappointed with herself.

“Given this restaurant is out in the middle of nowhere, the mandatory disqualification will cause her difficulty getting to work. She still has a job there and they are supportive of her.”

Ms Highams said in way of mitigation that there were parked cars on the road which meant Dimes, of Fitzwarren Close in Chippenham, had to move towards the centre line.

She added that her reading was just one microgram over the threshold to be treated in the lower category, and asked magistrates “to consider whether you can step outside your guidelines”.

Magistrates took into account her early guilty plea, clean driving licence and previous good character, as well as references from her employer and decided to move outside the sentencing guidelines.

They banned her from the roads for 15 months, as well as fining her £666.

She must also pay court costs and a victim surcharge, resulting in a total court bill of £817.