A student has been spared jail after she was caught drink driving four times in three years.

Naomi Kaneko, 37, was found slumped at the wheel of her BMW 320 with her mobile in her hand and a bottle of wine in the foot well.

She’s now appeared before the court again where she said she got drunk to cope with having an abortion at the request of her boyfriend.

Naomi Kaneko, who is also known as Mimi, has been caught drink driving numerous times (Picture: Cavendish)

Police found her at 9.30pm on March 13, yards from her flat in Hale, Greater Manchester, and described her as being ‘very, very incoherent’.


She was found to be three times over the drink drive limit but avoided an immediate custodial sentence, instead being given a suspended jail term of 16 weeks.



Kaneko, who is also known as Mimi, claimed she was suffering from stress following a dyslexia diagnosis as well as form the abortion.

A report by the probation service said: ‘She accepts alcohol has been an issue, and it has been an issue since she was 21, she used alcohol regularly due to her previous employment when she was drinking on a social basis.’

They added that she acknowledges she should have sought help instead of turning to alcohol and is disappointed in herself.

She was given a suspended prison sentence for drink driving (Picture: Cavendish)

The court was told she had previously been a victim of domestic abuse.

The report continued: ‘She has been referred to counselling, and due to long waiting list on the NHS, she pays privately for it.

‘She volunteers once a week in the detoxification ward of a hospital in Prestwich. She also works as a support worker where she helps others with their own issues.

‘She works around her daughter and is her main carer. She is studying for her masters degree at Salford and has a stable relationship with her current partner.’

Her lawyer said that if she went to prison nobody else would be able to look after her nine-year-old child as her father provides little to no support.

A judge told her that if she breaches her conditions he wouldn’t hesitate in sending her to jail immediately (Picture: Cavendish)

District Judge James Hatton told Kaneko: ‘Unfortunately for you, your record of previous convictions is disgraceful. There were three separate offences of drink driving in 2015 and these are offences were custody would be appropriate.

‘But I have seen many letters to suggest you’re getting help for your personal circumstances.

‘Those alone would not be sufficient to persuade me against a custodial sentence but my main concerns are about your daughter and what will happen to her should you be sent to prison.

‘For that reason I will suspend your sentence. But let me make it abundantly clear, if you breach your sentence by the commissioning of another offence, you will be brought back to court and your feet will not touch the floor.

‘I promise you, you will go straight to prison and I will not blink when I send you down. Be sure of that.’

Kaneko was also ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work and pay £200 costs. She was banned from driving for five years.