The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Sutton Bridge scaffolder was caught drug-driving in the same uninsured car three times within a month.
Rocky James Burton, who was also on an expired provisional licence, has been banned from driving for 22 months.
The 33-year-old was first caught on July 23 last year. Police on the A17 near Sutton Bridge noted the car was showing as having no insurance.
“The BMW made off at speed. Police were unable to keep sight of the vehicle,” prosecutor Eleanor Sheerin told King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. “They went to the address where it was registered and found the vehicle parked.”
Burton failed a roadside drug wipe and was arrested. In custody a test showed 2.6 micrograms of a cannabis metabolite per litre of blood; the legal limit is two.
On August 3 he was recognised by police as he drove in Emneth. Again he was drug-driving, with the same reading for a cannabis metabolite.
And on August 22 he was drug-driving a third time, this time with a passenger and child in the car.
The cannabis metabolite reading was 2.8 micrograms.
Burton, of Queen Street, pleaded guilty to drug-driving, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and having no insurance on three separate occasions and one count of driving without due
care and attention in the July 23 incident.
In mitigation, solicitor Rob New said: “He was recreationally using cannabis to the extent that he would probably have been over the limit every time he got behind the wheel of the car.”
For the July 23 offence of drug-driving, Burton was disqualified for 18 months, fined £420 and told to pay £105 costs and £42 victim surcharge. For the August 3 offence, he was banned for 20 months, to run concurrently, and for the final offence he was disqualified for 22 months, also to run
concurrently.
Chairman of the bench, John Hare, told him: “What is a little disturbing is you were caught drug-driving on July 23 , then only two weeks later you were drug-driving again and once more in another two weeks.”
