She had had a “very difficult and long day” in her role and was grieving for a friend when she headed to Grandes Rocques on her motorbike. Sarmule left her helmet on the ground next to her bike and spent some time on the beach.
On returning to her bike, the defendant found her helmet was missing and assumed it had been stolen.
Knowing it was illegal to ride a motorbike without a helmet, Sarmule pushed the vehicle to St John’s Road in St Peter Port where she visited a friend.
Pictured: A concerned member of the public called the police.
She had shared a bottle of wine with her friend before leaving for her second job as a cleaner. Sarmule decided to ride the bike this time, despite having been drinking and without a helmet.
The defendant was brought to Guernsey Police’s attention by a member of the public who saw her riding the bike just before 21:00. The witness noticed Sarmule was riding without a helmet and said the bike was “unsteady and almost falling over”. The witness wound her window down and told the defendant, “I think you should get off your motorbike” before calling the police.
Sarmule confirmed to officers that she had been riding the bike and claimed her helmet had been stolen. They could smell alcohol on her breath and, when they tested her, it was confirmed she was over the drink drive limit.
Pictured: The defendant was asked to carry out a breath test (file image).
When she was interviewed at the police station the following day, the defendant said she had bought a bottle of wine but had only drunk it once she had finished driving. However, when police checked back on CCTV they could not see a bottle on her person. Officers asked her about this, to which she replied “it was a small wine bottle”.
After “further challenging”, Sarmule accepted she had been drinking before driving.
Duty Advocate Sarah Morgan explained how the defendant was “petrified and regrets lying and wasting police time”. She told the court that a driving disqualification would “impact [Sarmule] significantly” and may lead to her having to quit her second job, but that she was willing to face her punishment.
On sentencing, Judge Graeme McKerrell told the defendant “you have not helped yourself in the slightest” by lying to the police.
“Whatever personal circumstances you were dealing with, you put yourself and others at risk which hardly seems compatible with your main profession as a Nurse,” he added. “You should have known better.”
Sarmule was ordered to pay £400 and has been disqualified from driving in Guernsey for the next year.
Pictured top: The Royal Court House.