Telford van driver banned from the road after taking cocaine and cannabis before getting behind the wheel
A van driver who was caught behind the wheel with cocaine and cannabis in his system has been handed a road ban and a hefty court bill.
Kyle Talbot, aged 26, drove a Peugeot Partner van on Meadow Farm Drive in Sundorne, Shrewsbury on November 16 last year.
Telford Magistrates Court was told that police pulled him over at around 2pm due to his van showing up as being uninsured.
Officers suspected he was under the influence of drugs so carried out a roadside test, which proved positive.
Talbot was arrested and taken into custody, where a sample of his blood was taken and sent off to a laboratory.
The results showed he had 2.9 micrograms of Delta 9 THC - the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis - and 32mcg of cocaine per litre of blood. The legal limits for the drugs, taking into account the possibility of accidental exposure, is 2mcg for cannabis and 10mcg for cocaine.
Talbot, of Meadow View Close, Newport, Telford, pleaded guilty to two counts of driving with a proportion of a controlled drug above the specified limit.
Representing himself on his first ever court appearance, Talbot told magistrates: “I’m sorry for doing it. I know I shouldn’t have.”
He added that a road ban would affect his work as he drives others to jobs.
Magistrates disqualified Talbot from driving for 12 months and fined him £400. They also ordered Talbot to pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £106 victim surcharge, leaving him with a total court bill of £645.
