Driver crashed into police car on Redbrook Road

Tracey Colgan, from Partington, crashed into the police car on Redbrook Road on May 20. Colgan failed the breath test at the roadside and she was taken to the police station in Pendleton, Salford, where she failed the breath test for a second time. She returned a result of almost three times the legal limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, after admitting drink driving, she received a community order with 100 hours of unpaid work and a disqualification from driving for two years to be reduced by six months upon completion of a course. She paid GBP200 in court costs. At the time she worked at Anthony Philip James & Co Ltd, also known as APJ Solicitors Ltd, a firm based at Daresbury Park in Warrington

As a result she told the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) about her conviction and, after an investigation, the regulator released a ruling this month. The ruling reads: “Ms Colgan admits, and the SRA accepts, by virtue of her conduct and conviction for driving with excess alcohol, she failed to behave in a way that upholds trust and public confidence in the solicitors’ profession in breach of Principle 2 of the Standards and Regulations.” The regulator accepted it was an isolated incident and Colgan was remorseful for the incident.

It agreed a fine of around GBP1,500 down from a fine of around GBP2,500 due to “financial hardship”. The ruling reads: “The SRA considers because this was an isolated incident, and because there is no pattern of behaviour, a fine at the lower end of the bracket is appropriate. However, this must be balanced against the aggravating factors in the case, which are Ms Colgan had a high level of alcohol in her breath and she was sentenced to a lengthy disqualification.

“The SRA considers a basic penalty, which is at the bottom of the bracket, to be appropriate.”