Anti-drink drive campaigners have spoken out after one of the country's top female rally drivers was found guilty of driving while over the limit.

Rachael Simmonite, 24, was banned for 18 months and fined £240 by a Skipton court yesterday.

The conviction means that she will not be able to drive in competitions along with her sister Stephanie because, as a co-driver, she still needs a valid driver's licence.

Malcolm and Margaret Debenham, whose 18-year-old son Daniel was killed in a car driven by a drunk driver near Queensbury in 1995, said: "There is no excuse whatsoever for drink driving.

"Our son wasn't aware that he was in the car with a drunk driver.

"Rachael Simmonite put alcohol past her lips and then got behind the wheel of a car.

"People should think about that before they act - especially people in the public eye who should be setting examples.

"I believe that sentences still are not harsh enough to deter people.

"It's obviously an issue close to our hearts and something we feel strongly about."

A spokesman for the AA said that nobody had the right to drink and drive.

"Drink driving is a crime and it should be punished no matter who people are or what car they drive," she said.

"What this case does show is that people who drink and drive will be caught no matter who they are."

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