'Ashamed' police sergeant caught drink-driving consumed 'bottle of wine' before driving daughter to hospital
8 June 2025, 20:38 | Updated: 8 June 2025, 22:57
A Special Sergeant caught drink-driving the morning after consuming a bottle of wine while completing police paperwork has resigned.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Claire Mumford, 47, drank more than a bottle of wine as she worked into the night to complete paperwork she said she felt "pressured" to do, a misconduct hearing was told.
The morning of March 13, while off-duty, she was pulled over near Knighton on the Isle of Wight. The volunteer Special Constable was driving her daughter, who had been bitten by a dog, to hospital.
A breathalyser test found her to be over the legal limit.
The Special Sergeant, who had worked with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary for eight years, has now resigned from the force.
The hearing at the force’s HQ in Eastleigh, Hampshire, was told that the Special Sergeant had drunk a bottle of wine and fallen asleep the night before the incident.
She had woken up at 11:15pm because she was stressed about the paperwork she had to complete. She continued drinking as she finished the paperwork.
In a statement read on her behalf, she said: “My daughter called to say she had been bitten by a dog and needed to go to A&E, which was when I was pulled over and breathalysed.
“I was not feeling hungover. I am ashamed and embarrassed by what happened.”
She appeared at Isle of Wight magistrates’ court in April, where she pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was given a 12-month driving ban and a fine.
Mumford also resigned from the police force following the incident.
At the hearing, she was found guilty of gross misconduct and it was ruled that if she had not resigned, she would have been dismissed.
Detective Seargent Chris Whittington, an investigation officer, said: “On March 13, while off-duty she drove a motor vehicle having consumed so much alcohol that she was over the legal limit.
“She was breathalysed and the result came back as 54mg per 100ml of breath. She was then arrested and taken to Newport Police Station.
“She said she was devastated by her actions and accepts responsibility, but did not have any idea that she was still over the limit.
“She had many years on the force and feels ashamed that it ended this way. She now accepts the allegation and accepts that it is a breach of standards that leads to gross misconduct.”
Tony Rowlinson, assistant chief constable of the force, who led the investigation, said Mumford was “culpable” of driving over the legal limit.
“I want to thank you for the level of service you have given to the constabulary,” he said.
“You have done a remarkable amount of community work and I thank you for that. This is a tragic case which has ended in you being found guilty of drunk driving."
“To uphold the standards of the force, I judge that she would have been dismissed had she been a serving officer.”
Mumford was part of a team of Special Constables - volunteer police officers - who were named Special Constabulary Team of the Year in 2022.
