The mother, who has since shed five stones of weight, told the court she was walking down the left side of the stairs, whereas the banister was on the right.

But Judge Baucher said, given her size at the time, that should not have prevented Mrs Hussein using the rail as she walked down the metre-wide stairway.

"Mrs Hussein, at 115kg, must have taken up much of the width of the stairway," said the judge, "but for some inexplicable reason, she did not use the handrail."

Earlier, Mrs Hussein said she had drunk no more than a glass and a half of champagne and a glass of red wine, and was not tipsy.

But the club's barrister Catherine Foster pointed out medical records from her arrival at hospital, in which she was described as "obviously drunk" and "intoxicated".

In her ruling, Judge Baucher found Mrs Hussein was under the influence, although she said she may have been affected by painkillers and the fact she had not had alcohol for six months before the accident.