Socialite back out on bail

Lynne Carter failed to appear in Auckland District Court last week. Photo / Herald on Sunday

An Auckland socialite banned from a posh Auckland hotel for erratic behaviour has been arrested again.

Lynne Carter failed to appear in Auckland District Court for a status hearing on drugs and fraud charges last week, and later that day was found on the motorway with a broken-down car.

Sources say she told police she was heading to the airport to leave the country. "She was very erratic, pretty dishevelled," said a passerby. "She looked like she had been living out of her car."

Carter had three suitcases with her.

Carter appeared in Auckland District Court on Tuesday with a duty solicitor. She has been remanded on bail again, to reappear later this month.

Court documents show that Carter - who once boasted a $6 million waterfront mansion, a Ferrari and a booming property development business - wants to apply for legal aid to fight the methamphetamine and fraud charges.

Carter was last week examined for the court by a forensic nurse, who described her as speaking in mumbled sentences, but otherwise with no evidence of thought disorder.

The Herald on Sunday revealed last week that the boutique Herne Bay hotel Mollies had banned Carter from staying there.