Chester man in court for for drug-driving in Broughton

Joseph Hughes, of Common Lane in Balderton, Chester, appeared at Mold Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The 30-year-old admitted two offences of drug-driving and one of using a mobile phone while driving.

Prosecutor Justin Espie told the court that on April 16 this year, at around 11am, police spotted the defendant driving a Vauxhall motor vehicle at Broughton Shopping Park with a phone in his hand.

As such, he was spoken to - and was "apologetic and cooperative" from the outset.

But a roadside test confirmed the presence of drugs in his system.

Blood testing later revealed Hughes had more than 400 microgrammes of Benzoylecgonine (a cocaine breakdown product also referred to as BZE) per litre of blood - the limit being 50.

He was also found to have 4.4 microgrammes of cannabis per litre of blood, the limit for that substance being 2.

Elzbeth Kenny, defending, told the court: "Mr Hughes lives on and runs a farm owned by his dad just outside Doddleston.

"He also maintains a full-time job as a property maintenance fitter and electrician.

"On the day, he drove from the farm to the nearby McDonald's on Broughton Shopping Park, had his breakfast and had his phone in his lap.

"As he put his seatbelt on and drove off, he moved the phone from his lap to the dashboard.

"That's when the police saw him with it in his hand whilst driving."

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In terms of why her client had been using drugs, Ms Kenny pointed to the defendant's work and responsibilities on the family farm causing him stress.

She continued: "There were two drugs in his system but he hadn't taken them that day; he'd had them the previous week and didn't believe he'd be under the influence.

"In order to cope with his stress, he does have some dysfunctional coping mechanisms, such as using illicit street drugs rather than going to see his GP."

The court handed down a 12 month community order with 10 days of rehabilitation activity and 100 hours of unpaid work for the two drug-drive offences.

No separate penalty was imposed for the phone offence.

Hughes was banned from driving for 18 months and must pay £85 costs, as well as a £114 victim surcharge.