Drink driving nurse banned after terrorist claim

A FORMER nurse has been disqualified from driving and given unpaid work after taking to the wheel while five times the limit before telling police she was a member of extremist organisation ISIS and had plastic explosives in her shoe.

Catherine Coghill, of 11 Hill Grind, Lerwick, lost her licence for two years and was given a total of 160 hours of unpaid work at the town’s Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

At an earlier hearing, the 60 year old admitted taking to the streets of Lerwick on 1 March with what was described as an “astonishing alcohol level” in her system before being stopped by police.

She then turned aggressive, threatened to poison the officers if taken to hospital and claimed she was a member of terrorist group ISIS with explosives in a shoe.

On Wednesday defence agent Tommy Allan said that his client had “not been coping well with things in life” at the time and had a “huge amount of shame and guilt” for her behaviour.

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Coghill had subsequently resigned from her job as a nurse because she had “let her profession down”.

Before sentencing, sheriff Philip Mann said that it was a “matter of great shame” that Coghill let herself into such a state to commit the offences.

She can reduce the period of disqualification by six months if she successfully completes a drink driver’s rehab course.