Fashion buyer daughter of Philip Green’s former ‘right-hand girl’ is banned from driving after being found slumped over the wheel of her car
Ashley McPherson was almost twice the limit when she was spotted by police
THE daughter of Philip Green's former 'right-hand girl' has been banned from the roads for drink-driving after she was found slumped at the wheel of her car.
Fashion buyer Ashley McPherson was almost twice the limit when she was breathalysed by police who spotted her sat in her Fiat 500 which was parked near Manchester City's Etihad stadium.
Prosecutors said Ashley -a former pupil of the prestigious Manchester High School for Girls - was a ''good citizen who was in a pickle of her own making''.
Tests showed she had 60 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
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At Manchester magistrates court McPherson who lives in the wealthy suburb of Bowdon, near Altrincham, Cheshire, apologised to JPs as she appeared in the dock.
She admitted drink driving following the night out with work colleagues and was banned from driving for 17 months.
She was also fined £460 and ordered to pay £130 in costs and surcharges. She was given the option of taking a driving course to reduce the length of her ban.
According to her Linked In page the youngster has followed similar career path to her mother who had been a Saturday shop girl in Glasgow before becoming managing director of MK One and later head of the now defunct women's wear chain Ethel Austin.
Elaine was described as "Sir Philip Green's right hand girl" while working at the value fashion chains What Everyone Wants and MK One.
According to her Linked In page Ashley worked as a trainee in Tesco before joining Harvey Nichols in 2014 as a sales advisor and then being appointed to the staff of online retailer PrettyLittleThings.com where she is now a junior buyer.
The court heard the incident occurred on October 29 when police were out on patrol and notice the Fiat in the car park of Asda with McPherson at the wheel.
Prosecutor Carl Gaffney said: ''This is good citizen in a pickle of her own making.
"She was found slumped at the wheel and provided a breathalyser sample where 60 microgrammes of alcohol were found in her system. There was no sign of bad driving and no problems with Ms McPherson - she has no previous convictions.''
Representing herself McPherson said: "I'm sorry. I had been out after work and I was really close to Asda in Sports City. I walked back to my car and really needed a drink of water so I went to Asda round the corner and was waiting in my car for a taxi. It was a really stupid thing to do."
Passing sentence JP Tayna Temkin told McPherson: "This was a really unfortunate series of events and we are going to give you a fine for this.
"Because of your early guilty plea we are reducing the fine. We have given you a driving ban for 17 months but you do have the option to undertake a driving course. This could reduce your ban by 17 weeks.
"You must not step foot into a drivers seat until the ban is over."
Ashley declined to comment after the case.
In 2010 she had featured alongside her two sisters in a glossy magazine interview her mother Elaine gave about their luxury lifestyle at a custom-made castle built for the family.
Mrs McPherson snr had started life as a Saturday shop girl at "the wrong end of Glasgow's Argyle Street" before later working with Sir Philip Green when he bought the discount chain What Everyone Wants, of which she was buying director.
She moved from Glasgow to Manchester to join Green and, in 1996, the pair bought the discount womenswear retailer MK One retail chain out of administration. McPherson later bought out Sir Philip's share and sold the company for £55m in 2004.
In 2008 she bought Ethel Austin which was established in Liverpool in 1934 out of administration for a reported £10m. But the firm called in administrators again in 2010 - and then again in 2011 under the name Life & Style. It ceased to operate in 2013.
During her heyday Mrs McPherson and property developer husband Stuart built a sprawling £12.5 million mansion complete with swimming pool, servants' quarters and a turret but the family later put it on the market - claiming it was too big for them.
In an interview Mrs McPherson said: "We didn't set out to build a castle. It is a family home to be enjoyed, a beautiful entertaining house."
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