US air stewardess, 56, was TEN times the alcohol limit after downing mini bottles of vodka on flight to Heathrow

A United Airlines stewardess was 10 times the legal limit to fly after downing vodka on a transatlantic jet, a court heard.

Margit Lake, 56, had to be taken to hospital after sneaking ‘multiple miniature bottles’ of the spirit onto the 10-hour flight from San Francisco to Heathrow last month.

The Californian stewardess had low blood pressure and paramedics ‘smelt alcohol on her breath’ after the Boeing 777 landed in London, a court heard.

A blood test later revealed Lake had 216 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres in her blood – more than times the legal limit for flight attendants in the UK. 

Lake had worked for United Airlines for 26 years but has since resigned and been attending Alcoholics Anonymous almost daily, the court heard.

She appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in a black cardigan and admitted performing an aviation function when over the alcohol limit on October 17. 

She was fined £1,461 financial penalty, a £584 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.

Ben Lansbury, defending, said Lake had been feeling ‘isolated’, was estranged from her family and ‘had been dealing with grief’.

Mr Lansbury said: ‘She had the alcohol because she needed to calm down. It was something of a shock to her as to what happened. She deeply regrets what happened.

‘Ms Lake has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous almost daily since the last hearing. She is supported by colleagues here in the UK and they sit in the back of the court.’

Magistrate Tony Delliston told her: ‘We are not going to commit this to the crown court. We can deal with this here.

‘You are not going to prison. We are going to deal with this with a financial penalty.’