Telford BMW driver gets huge road ban after being caught under influence of drugs for the third time
Magistrates in Telford have issued a huge road ban for a BMW driver who was caught under the influence of drugs for a third time
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A BMW driver from Telford who took cocaine has been banned from the road for six years after being caught under the influence for a third time.
Father-of-two Brad Perkins, aged 30, was also handed a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months after he was convicted again.
Telford Magistrates Court was told how Perkins was most recently caught in a BMW 1 Series on the busy A442 in Telford at around 10.45am on September 29 last year.
“Officers were aware of a vehicle driving at speed and being driven erratically,” said Kate Price, prosecuting.
Police pulled Perkins over and asked him to do a roadside drugs swipe. It came back positive and Perkins was arrested.
In custody, a sample of Perkins’s blood was taken and sent off to a laboratory for analysis.
He had two similar previous convictions, including one from last year
It was found that Perkins had 343 micrograms of benzoylecgonine, a by-product of cocaine, per litre of blood. The legal limit, taking into consideration the possibility of accidental exposure, is 50mcg.
Perkins, of Parkdale, Hadley, Telford, pleaded guilty to driving with a proportion of a controlled drug above the specified limit. He had two similar previous convictions, including one from last year.
The court was told that Perkins has sought the help of Telford Stars addiction rehabilitation centre.
The lengthy road ban handed down by magistrates is typically reserved for some of the most serious driving offences including dangerous driving.
Last November a Shropshire woman was disqualified from driving for five years for causing the death of a 29-year-old father-of-three by dangerous driving.
As well as Perkins's driving disqualification and suspended jail term, magistrates also ordered him to do 12 rehabilitation activity days.
Perkins must pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £154 victim surcharge - a total of £239. Magistrates agreed he could pay it off at the rate of £5 per week.
