A five-year-old girl was pulled from a car driven by her drunken mother after she banged on the window and called out to passers-by: “Stop Mummy driving.”

A woman pedestrian rescued the child from the back seat of the car in the centre of Falkirk last weekend and shouted at the 35-year-old driver to stop.

Instead, as people tried to comfort the child, the car careered across the road, mounted the pavement and struck a fence. The befuddled driver then reversed into a wall on the other side of the road and eventually lurched to a standstill in the road.

Police found that the mother - who had three other charges of drink-driving pending - had almost 4 times the alcohol limit in her breath.

The woman, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty to three charges at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, including having a breath alcohol level of 158 microgrammes - the legal limit is 35 - and putting her child at risk. She will be sentenced next month.

The episode is described as the most extraordinary incident in Scotland during a two-week anti-drink and drugs- driving campaign co-ordinated across eight police forces by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos).

Jim Green, Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police and a spokesman for Acpos, said: “Never in my 29 years of policing have I ever heard of such an incident where such a young child has alerted members of the public to a parent's totally unacceptable and inexcusable behaviour.

“While court will address the driving consequences of this woman's behaviour, it's the underlying issues that have to be addressed by all concerned with this driver.”

Donald McMillan, head of Central Scotland Police's roads department, praised the youngster's rescuer, saying that her actions were to be applauded.

He said: “This motorist was prevented from causing serious injury to herself, her child and other road users. The child was in an extremely distressed state and we are thankful the incident didn't result in serious injuries.

“However, this should serve as a reminder to motorists that as soon as they get behind a wheel they have a responsibility to themselves, their passengers and other road users.”

During the second week of the campaign 180 motorists throughout Scotland were stopped for drink-driving, bringing the total for the two weeks to 343 - 11 more than during the 2007 campaign. That included 13 drivers who were arrested for being unfit through drugs.

“While that increase is marginal, it is still an increase and that means that our message is not getting through to a select group of drivers,” Mr Green said.

Lothian and Borders Police arrested a 29-year-old primary school teacher driving in Edinburgh after they were told by Fife police that they suspected she had been drinking. The woman's vehicle was subsequently involved in a minor collision with a minibus full of children in Edinburgh. She was given a breath test at the roadside that proved positive and she was arrested. A second test at a police station gave a reading of almost four times the limit. No one was hurt in the crash.

In Dumfries and Galloway a 23-year-old man from Ayr appeared in Stranraer Sheriff Court on Monday after crashing a car into a parked vehicle in a holiday camp. He had been arrested for drink-driving, driving while disqualified and taking a car without the permission of the owner. He was kept in police custody over the weekend until his court appearance.

On Thursday evening, Lothian and Borders Police arrested a 29-year-old man near Livingston after his vehicle was spotted being driven erratically. When the vehicle came to rest after colliding with the central reservation of the M8, the driver was breath tested, arrested and taken to a police station where he provided a second positive reading.

He was held in custody after it emerged that he had been bailed to attend court for a similar offence a month earlier.

On that occasion he made off from police but was traced and given a breath test at the roadside, which showed a reading of twice the legal limit.

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