A DRINK-DRIVER who killed a 71-year-old grandmother when her car ploughed into her outside a pub has pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Patricia Lawlor, 52, from Fiddlers Hamlet, near Epping, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court today (September 30) after the crash on November 6 last year when her Vauxhall Cavalier knocked down Patricia Eustace.

Mrs Eustace, of Maple Springs, Waltham Abbey, had just stepped outside for a cigarette at the Merry Fiddlers Pub, in Fiddlers Hamlet, when she was struck by Lawlor's car as it careered off the road and into the building.

She was declared dead at the scene.

Lawlor was released on bail pending a yet to be determined sentencing date.