Drug-driver had knife in car

A Holbeach drug-driver who had a knife in the car has been ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Patrick Smith (22) was also disqualified for three years for his second conviction of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.
Police spotted him driving a Ford Ranger erratically in Boston’s Sleaford Road at 12.45am on March 7.
Prosecutor Fiona McClelland told Boston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday: “The defendant freely admitted that there was a knife in the centre console and that he’d had a drink earlier and taken cocaine the day previously.”
A test in custody showed 800 microgrammes of a cocaine derivative per litre of blood in his system – 16 times the legal limit of 50 – and 65 microgrammes of cocaine (limit ten).
Smith, of Rose View Drive, had a previous conviction of driving with excess alcohol, which triggered a mandatory minimum three-year ban for the latest offence.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of drug-driving and possession of a lock knife in a public place.
In mitigation, Phillipa Chatterton said her client lived with his parents who were going through marriage troubles in March.
“He became quite affected by that so he took himself away to a hotel so he could get a break from what was happening,” she added.
It was while he was away that he took cocaine on the Sunday and was stopped in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
She said the knife, which had his name on, was a gift from Canada and he used it in his work as a roofer.
“Had he been on his way to work he would’ve had a defence,” she added.
The unpaid work sentence was part of a 12-month community order.
Smith was also ordered to pay £199 in costs and victim surcharge.