Drunk teacher, 37, who crashed her Land Rover into railings outside primary school before fleeing is banned from driving

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:00, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 12:27, 23 July 2026 A drunk teacher who downed several glasses of prosecco before crashing her Land Rover Discovery outside a primary school has been banned from driving.  Leoni King, 37, had been celebrating a birthday with friends when she decided to get behind the wheel of her SUV - despite being more than three times over the limit.  She smashed into railings outside Loose Primary School in Maidstone, Kent, after becoming distracted by a phone call from her husband.  King then fled the scene and headed home as she started to 'panic about what would happen'.  However, the mother-of-two was recognised by someone she knew, who reported the crash to police.  Officers arrived at the scene and then her home, where they breathalysed her - but she failed the test and was taken to hospital before later being arrested and charged with drink-driving.  King, who teaches at Cornwallis Academy in Linton, Maidstone, admitted the offence when she appeared before magistrates in Medway on Tuesday, July 21.   Victoria Aked, prosecuting, told the court the incident happened on November 22 last year at about 12.45am. Leoni King, 37, was drink-driving when she smashed into railings outside a school in Maidstone, Kent after becoming distracted by a phone call from her husband The railings outside Loose Primary School where King crashed her grey Land Rover Discovery The court heard that when her urine was tested, she gave a reading of 156 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine. The legal limit is 107. However, the bench was also told after police arrived at her home, a roadside breath test gave a reading of 123 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, making her more than three times the legal limit of 35. Miss Aked added: 'She was in the Loose area and wanted to move her car from one area to another as thieves had broken into some vehicles (in that area). 'She'd had prosecco, a few too many, and she does drive, but she then gets a call from her husband, and she looks to answer the call, and crashes into the railings.' Magistrates were also told that, despite it being 12.45am, a witness saw her grey Land Rover Discovery crash and recognised King as being a teacher at Cornwallis Academy. The prosecutor added: 'It was the phone call; her attention was drawn to that which caused the accident, she would say, and she panics and goes back to her husband at home.' The court also heard that, despite fleeing the scene of the smash and returning home, King was not charged with any offence in relation to the crash other than drink-driving. Ms Aked added: 'She lives locally, there have been no other charges and officers attended and found her at her home. 'She was very panicked and said she didn't know what to do, and she failed a roadside breath test and blew 123 at the scene, and that's more than three times the legal limit. 'She had to have medical attention, and bloods couldn't be taken, so she provided urine, and that reading was 156, and the legal limit is 107.' At this point during the hearing, King could be seen crying and shaking after hearing the facts of the case. Jennifer Stanbury, defending, said her client had suffered a lot of shame and trauma since the incident, which had been hanging over her head. She added: 'She lives at home with her husband and two children and earns £3,000 a month. 'She's got some mental health issues, PTSD and is on medication; she suffers from panic attacks and has done for eight years. 'She was also the victim of domestic violence and suffered four years of abuse from an ex-partner. 'It was after midnight on that day, and she had been up since 6am. She had two coffees and took her meds the night before. 'She took the children to school and then went to work at 8am, and all she had was some crisps. 'At 4pm she went to The Chequers pub and had more crisps and celebrated with friends; it was a birthday party. 'She had three or four glasses of prosecco and expected to leave the car at the pub and get her husband to collect it.' However, the court also heard that some of her ex-partner's friends arrived at the same pub and it triggered her into a panic. Mrs Stanbury said: 'She got in the vehicle to move it from one side of the road to the other, the telephone call came up on her screen (in the vehicle) and she crashed into the railings. 'She was looking at the screen, and she had panicked because her ex-partner's friends were in the pub and her house is a short distance away, and she walked through the alleyway and her husband went back to the car.'  Magistrates were also told the police were by this time at the scene of the crash and spoke to her husband, who told them he had not been the driver of the car at the time it had crashed. Mrs Stanbury added: 'She had face injuries and at the hospital agreed to do a urine sample. 'She was a victim and has been traumatised and panicked about what would happen; she's been having counselling once a week and started that in December 2023. 'She's repulsed by drink-driving and has not drunk since; she did have one drink at Christmas, but she had not had a full meal that day as she was so busy, she had an empty stomach.' The court also heard that King, who is still teaching, wanted to be offered the drink-driving course, and, if she completed it, the ban she was to receive would be reduced by a quarter. Magistrates told King they had listened to everything that had been said and had taken into account her early guilty plea when they decided her sentence. As a result, they banned her from driving for 14 months and fined her £700 for the offence. She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £280 and £85 court costs and will pay what she owes the court at a rate of £50. A spokesman for the school said: 'We are aware of the outcome of court proceedings this week. 'Following this incident, we followed our robust policies and procedures, and any appropriate actions have been taken. 'As this relates to an individual matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further.'