An employee of SBM has narrowly escaped jail following an accident last Friday, September 22.

The Cafe de Paris worker was driving over the legal alcohol limit and without a valid driving licence when she drove into a motorcyclist who had stopped at the traffic lights outside Barclays Bank just after 05:00 in the morning.

Appearing handcuffed in court after three days in jail, the tearful driver admitted the offence and apologised to everyone concerned.

The 40 year-old woman escaped with a suspended sentence of two months, and fines of 300 euros and 45 euros, after her defence lawyer asked for clemency that would allow her to keep her job, rather than an immediate jail term.

She said she had no idea how she had come to drink more than three glasses of wine. Meanwhile, the victim of the accident, who had to take five days off work, said he welcomed the case being referred to a civil compensation court rather than claiming damages at a criminal hearing.

READ MORE: Well over limit, sent to jail for one month