An ‘exceptionally polite’ drug driver found in possession of a knife has avoided a prison term.
Simon Boor was pulled over by police when they spotted him driving a Hyundai with a defective front headlight in Curzon Street, Calne, at 11pm on 26 March this year.
The 29-year-old exited the vehicle smelling of cannabis, before immediately telling the officer that he was in possession of a small knife which had two locking blades.
Pauline Lambert, prosecuting, said the defendant had been “exceptionally polite and courteous throughout” the traffic stop – and when he was arrested having failed a drug swipe.
At Swindon Magistrates’ Court, Boor, of Warwick Close, Chippenham, pleaded guilty to driving whilst over the prescribed drug-drive limit for cannabis and possessing a knife in a public place.
It’s not the first time Boor has featured on Wiltshire 999s. On Christmas Eve 2019, he crashed his car down an embankment in Chippenham and posed for a photograph.
Mark Glendenning, defending, said the factory worker used the knife on a daily basis for work purposes only and had simply left it in his pocket.
He accepts, at the time, using cannabis regularly – though he has since given it up. As a result of this incident and impending conviction, he has struggled with work and is currently applying for benefits.
Possession of a knife carries a six-month prison term, but magistrates decided that given the circumstances, the crime was worthy of only a 12-month community order.
He must complete 280 hours of unpaid work and pay a fine of £120. The defendant was also handed a 12-month roads ban. He was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £95 surcharge.
