A drug driver with only a provisional licence to his name was caught after police spotted his ‘overloaded’ van.
Lee Creed, 33, was followed down Sunderland Avenue, Oxford, after the officer saw the overweight van.
Pulled over by the police officer, he admitted that he only had a provisional licence. He provided a negative breathalyser test but tested positive for cocaine.
A blood sample was taken from him when he returned to the police station with the constable. Having been sent away for analysis, the blood tests showed he was four times the legal limit for cocaine derivative benzoylecgonine.
Mavalynne Lewis, mitigating, said her client had taken cocaine a few days before he was stopped. He had got behind the wheel in order to drive a short distance for a job and 'thought what's the harm'. “It was a rash decision, he wishes he hadn’t done it,” his solicitor said.
Creed, of Quarry Road, Chadlington, pleaded guilty to drug driving, driving without a valid licence and driving without insurance.
The magistrates fined him £120, ordered he pay £119 in costs and surcharge and banned him from driving for three years.
Earlier this year, Creed received a community order for ‘kicking off’ in a holiday park near Weymouth. When he was put in handcuffs he told the Dorset Police officer: “You’re lucky I don’t nut you.”
The order was subsequently revoked and replaced with a short prison sentence. It was unfortunate that the January drug driving matter could not have been dealt with when he was sent to prison in June, his solicitor said.
This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
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