Cannabis driver asked police for directions

6 hours ago

PA Media People ride their horses through the river during the Appleby Horse Fair, the annual gathering of gypsies and travellers in Appleby

A motorist who asked police for directions while she was smoking a cannabis joint has been banned from driving for 17 months.

Fiona George, 52 and from Penzance in Cornwall, was visiting Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria when she was caught drug-driving on 7 June, Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard.

A police officer immediately smelled cannabis when George stopped her silver Citroen on Long Marton Road in Appleby to ask for directions at about 14:25 BST.

George, who admitted drug driving, was also fined £200 and ordered to pay a further £165 in costs and charges.

When stopped in Appleby, George, of Parc Mellon, took a roadside drug wipe test which gave a positive reading for the illegal class B drug, the court heard.

A blood sample later showed the level of the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis in her system was above the legal driving limit.

Addressing magistrates, George confirmed the prosecutor’s outline of the criminal conduct in June was correct.

She spoke of smoking cannabis since the age of 12 due to mental health problems and personal trauma, and of being disabled and a part-time wheelchair user.

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