A mum who smoked cannabis before getting behind the wheel of her Audi, with two young children in the back, has been banned from driving.
Sadie Rudd, 31, was stopped by police on April 19, after they received a tip-off that she was a "regular" cannabis smoker. She admitted to having used the drug in the previous few days and a blood test revealed that she was more than three times the legal driving limit.
In a bid to try and avoid a driving disqualification, perfume business owner Rudd told magistrates that she needed the car to take her son and daughter to primary school. She also claimed that she has not smoked cannabis since the incident.
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She told Warrington Magistrates' Court : "I have two dependent children. They go to school on the other side of town so I could do with the car to get them to and from school.
"I am very very sorry, I have not smoked it since. There's not much else I can say.”
Georgia Leyland, prosecuting, said a police officer was on uniformed patrol in a fully marked police car at 2.30pm on Tuesday 19 April when his attention was drawn to a blue Audi A3 driven by Rudd. "The officer had received information that the female was a regular user of cannabis," Miss Leyland said.
"It was suspected that she was under the influence of cannabis. Because of this he caused the vehicle to stop. She identified herself as the driver and admitted to having used cannabis in the last few days."
Toxicology reports showed Rudd had seven micrograms of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per litre of blood, the legal limit being 2mcg/l. THC is the principal psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
After admitting to driving while under the influence of cannabis, Rudd, who lives in the Bewsey and Whitecross area of Warrington, was banned from driving for a year. She was also fined £120 and ordered to pay an additional £119 in costs and victim surcharge.
Chairman of the bench Andrew Brothers said: “We have taken into consideration your prompt guilty plea. We know what you've said that you have got your children going to school out of the area.
“But you need to realise that when you are taking that rubbish you are driving with your children in the back of the car. You really need to stop.
“It is not just you but they are going to suffer now as well because you are getting a driving ban for 12 months. You have now lost your good character, you need to bear that in mind."
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