Headteacher Pat O'Shea has been banned from the wheel for two years after drink-driving with her two children in the back of the car.

The headteacher of Lord Williams's School in Thame was seen going "all over the place" in her car by a passer-by as she drove her Ford Escort on the A43 at Tusmore, near Bicester, on July 2.

O'Shea, 51, who has been on long-term sick leave suffering from stress, was also fined 1,400 and ordered to pay 35 costs when she appeared at Bicester Magistrates Court yesterday. Her solicitor, Kate Macnab, said O'Shea would not be returning to the school in September and planned to work as an education officer for Oxfordshire County Council.

Kirsten Allan, prosecuting, said the police officer who stopped O'Shea could smell alcohol on her breath and saw that she was unsteady on her feet. A breath test showed she had an alcohol level of 95mg in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

O'Shea, of Quarry Road, Headington, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol at an earlier hearing on July 11, but magistrates adjourned the case for reports.