A Calne woman who crashed her car whilst under the influence of drink and drugs didn’t hold a driving licence, a court heard.
Lucinda Seal, 25, appeared before Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday where she admitted drink driving, drug driving, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and possession of the class B drug cannabis.
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Cox said the defendant, of Castle Walk, crashed her Mazda 3 on the A420 at Ford, near Chippenham, at around 11pm on 13 July last year. Her car left the road and came to rest on the verge.
Seal managed to exit her vehicle largely uninjured before police arrived at the scene.
Officers spoke to members of the public at the incident who confirmed she was the driver. And on speaking to the defendant, officers immediately noticed she was slurring her words and her eyes were bloodshot.
She was asked to undertake a roadside breath test and blew a positive result. She was subsequently arrested.
When an officer went to check the vehicle was safe, they located a small quantity of herbal cannabis in the driver’s side footwell.
It was also established her licence had previously been revoked by the DVLA due to the accumulation of points on her licence – known as a ‘totting’ disqualification.
In the police car, Seal admitted she was the driver and confirmed the cannabis was hers.
Having provided a blood sample for testing, the level of cannabis (THC) was 3.5ug per litre – the legal drug-drive limit is 2ug. For alcohol, it was 139mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood – the limit is 80mg.
During an interview in police custody, Seal said she was drinking in a Chippenham pub before attempting to drive to a friend’s house in Yate – more than 20 miles away.
Defence solicitor Clare Gooding told the court her client has a promising career ahead of her and has worked really hard to stop using cannabis.
“She was shocked to be arrested”, she said. Adding: “She was going through an upsetting break-up at the time of these offences. Now looking back, she accepts that actually, she overrated at the time.”
Ms Gooding continued: “She has worked with her GP to cut down alcohol use by increasing her depression and anxiety medication.”
The court heard Seal had been bought the Mazda by her father after she got rid of her old car. She didn’t want to disappoint him be telling him she had lost her licence, so accepted it.
“She wants the court to know this has been a wake-up call for her”, Ms Gooding commented.
Sentencing Seal for offences labelled as “really serious”, District Judge Joanna Dickens imposed a 20-month disqualification, reduced by 20 weeks if she completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.
She also imposed two 12-month driving bans for drug driving and driving without insurance which will run concurrently. There was no separate penalty for driving without a licence.
Seal was ordered to pay a fine of £250, costs of £85 and a £34 victim surcharge.
