A UNIVERSITY lecturer has been banned from driving after she got behind the wheel while over the limit.

Jane Challenger-Gillitt was among 163 motorists stopped in a summer crackdown across Sussex.

The 53-year-old is a senior lecturer in computing, engineering and maths at the University of Brighton.

She was stopped by police in Upper Gardner Street in Brighton on June 23.

Police say she failed to provide a specimen of breath for analysis after she was suspected of drink driving, and say she also assaulted an officer during the course of their duty.

Challenger-Gillitt, of Roundhill Crescent in Brighton, will not be taking her car to lectures after she was banned for two years and eight months.

She was also given a suspended prison sentence of 20 weeks when she appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last month.

Magistrates ordered her to pay a £50 fine, £50 in compensation, and £115 for a victim surcharge.

She was not the only motorist to appear in the courts, as 52-year-old engineer William Stuart was also banned.

Stuart, of Chartfield in Hove, was stopped in Olliver Acre in Littlehampton on July 10, and a breath test found he had 141 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35 microgrammes.

He appeared before Worthing Magistrates’ Court in August and was given a suspended prison sentence of 12 weeks.

Magistrates banned him from driving for two years and ten months, and ordered him to do 160 hours of unpaid work.

He was put under curfew for eight weeks and ordered to pay £85 costs and £115 for a victim surcharge.

A catering manager was stopped in the crackdown. Pedro Meirinhos was stopped in Golden Jubilee Way in Eastbourne on July 15.

The 37-year-old of Church Hill in Newhaven was banned for 23 months, and must do 150 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £85 costs and £85 for a victim surcharge after he appeared before Hastings Magistrates’ Court.

Kent-based estate agent Samuel Hobson won't be showing clients around, after he was stopped while over the limit in Crawley in June.

The 35-year-old from Boxley Road in Maidstone appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court where he was banned for three years.

He was also ordered to pay a £742 fine, £85 costs and a £74 victim surcharge.

Nottinghamshire-based director Armandas Malisauskas was also stopped in Crawley in July.

The 45-year-old from Pevrel Place in Nottinghamshire was banned for two years, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Closer to home, unemployed Paul Beck from Springfield Road in Crawley was stopped in Horsham in July.

The 43-year-old was banned for 14 months and told to pay a £160 fine at Brighton Magistrates' Court.

Finally Hastings plumber Robert Kane was stopped near his home in Edmund Road in June.

The 57-year-old was banned for a year and ordered to pay a £100 fine, £360 court costs, and £30 victim surcharge by Hastings Magistrates' Court.

Police say 69 motorists have been convicted from the summer crackdown so far, while others are either awaiting court dates or have been charged.

In a warning to drivers they say those found guilty of getting behind the wheel face consequences such as a minimum 12 month ban, unlimited fines, or even prison sentences.

It can also affect future car insurance premiums, as well as restrict travel options to places such as the United States because of the criminal record.

Convictions can also affect drink drivers’ current or future job prospects.