A registered nurse collided with the wall of a medical practice while over the drink-drive limit, injuring two people inside.

Repeat offender Carla Earnshaw, aged 39, found herself back in court after an incident in the Eden Valley village of Shap, Cumbria, on the morning of Friday 8th May.

Earnshaw was behind the wheel of a silver MG HS Trophy vehicle.

'There is a report of a vehicle colliding with the wall of a building, a medical practice, which caused damage and minor injury to occupants inside the building,' prosecutor George Shelley told Carlisle Magistrates' Court.

Police were called to the Shap Medical Practice at around 11-30am. A spokesman confirmed two people inside the building at the time had suffered minor injuries and were checked over by paramedics at the scene.

Shap resident Jean Scott-Smith was in the waiting room at the time of the incident. She told the Penrith-based Cumberland & Westmorland Herald newspaper, after the incident, how she heard and felt an almighty crash. She confirmed the incident resulted in 'severe damage'.

'We were just sitting quietly and were chatting away and there was this great big bang,' she said. 'I could see a cupboard had come off the wall.

'Suddenly everyone was shouting and people were running all over the place. It struck under the window in the dispensary and had taken a great big chunk of wall out. I looked back and there was a great big hole and all this block work had gone under the window, and the car was in a mess. On the way home I could hear sirens coming from all over the place.'

A wall of the building where a dispensary was located was damaged. An NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board spokesman confirmed in the aftermath that a structural engineer had been due to assess the building. The practice was closed, temporarily, for several days.

Earnshaw, of Great Strickland, near Penrith, was arrested in the aftermath. The court heard evidential test analysis showed 62 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of her breath. The legal driving limit is 35mcg.

Earnshaw admitted driving with alcohol above the limit.

She had a previous drink-driving conviction which, the court heard, dated back to January, 2024. She had received a two-year ban for that offence, and successfully completed a drink-drive rehabilitation course which resulted in her licence being returned 24 weeks early, last year.

Defence lawyer Carl Millar, mitigating, said Earnshaw had consumed wine the night before her collision in Shap after six days of work. She was up early in the morning and had gone to collect a prescription while behind the wheel of an 'unfamiliar' car.

'She is extremely remorseful,' said Mr Millar. 'She knows it doesn't look good to be back before the court.'

Earnshaw was a registered nurse who had been working for the NHS in a West Yorkshire dementia care home before moving recently to Cumbria to make a fresh start with her family.

A letter from her current employer indicated they would be willing to keep her on, said Mr Millar, who added: 'It depends on a regulatory body as well, determining her fitness to practise. Hopefully she will be able to keep her job.'

Earnshaw had sought to tackle alcohol-related issues, undergoing counselling and therapy. 'She says that is under control,' said the lawyer of those issues.

District judge Philip Holden imposed a three-year driving ban. Earnshaw was offered another drink-drive rehabilitation course which, if successfully completed, will reduce the length of that disqualification by 36 weeks.

'It must have been the case that you had a considerable amount to drink if indeed the drink was consumed the previous night,' said the district judge.

Earnshaw must also pay a £500 fine, along with a £200 mandatory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.