Party-loving motorist banned from driving after being caught high on cocaine and cannabis from earlier binge
A party-loving motorist has been banned from driving after being caught behind the wheel while high on cocaine and cannabis.
Hannah Brookhouse, 27, tested more than twice the limit for a breakdown product of cocaine after police pulled her Q3 vehicle over at lunchtime in her hometown of Warrington, Cheshire.
When quizzed, Brookhouse insisted she was not under the influence of drugs at the time of her arrest and claimed she had consumed them several days earlier.
She said she had not realised the substances would still be in her blood.
Brookhouse, who has posted glamorous selfies of her nights out and trips to Ibiza, was fined £461 at Warrington Magistrates' Court.
She was also ordered to pay £269 in costs and surcharge while being banned from driving for 12 months, after the defendant had admitted drug driving.
The incident occurred on Museum Street in central Warrington on March 10 at 1pm.
Chloe Durose, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant was sighted by officers driving an Audi Q3. The officers stopped the defendant. She stated she had consumed cocaine and cannabis a few days earlier.
'A roadside drug wipe was positive for cocaine. The defendant was arrested and conveyed to custody where a blood test was taken.
'That too provided a positive reading. She has got no previous convictions.'
Blood tests showed Brookhouse, from Warrington, had 109 micrograms of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood.
BZE is a breakdown product of cocaine and the legal limit is 50mcg/l.
Representing herself, Brookhouse said: 'I was not on drugs behind the wheel of the car. I was not actually doing that at the time - it was days earlier but it was still in my system. I know it's not an excuse anyway.
'I work in Manchester but I know that this is not going to make any difference.
'I just got finance £600 per month on the car and I have now got to sort that all out.
'I know it was all my own fault. I have got to find other ways to get to work.'
When asked by JPs whether she knew how long the drugs stayed in her system, Brookhouse replied: 'I do not know exactly how long.
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