Repeat cocaine-fuelled driver from Havant caught by police in Portsmouth is warned of jail but says she does not do drug anymore

Carlene George, 30, was told by a magistrate that driving with drugs was a ‘serious’ offence that leads to ‘killing people’ - and was warned she faces jail if she does it again.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard how George, of Rooksbury Croft, Havant, was caught by police on Lakeshore Drive, Cosham, on November 2, after her ex-boyfriend had put the drug into a drink - which she knew about.

The defendant was found to have 32mcg of cocaine per litre of blood in her system, with the limit being 10mcg, following a roadside test by police.

George was previously banned on separate occasions for drink-driving and driving with cocaine in her system.

Her defence barrister Howard Barrington-Clark said the drug was still in her system after taking it four days earlier. But honest George rejected the claim, admitting: ‘I didn’t say that (it was four days).’

Prosecutor Graham Heath added: ‘She told the officer she took it the night before.’

George accepted she had in fact taken it the night before the offence.

A probation officer told the court: ‘Her ex put cocaine into her drink which she knew about. She has a history of drug use and said her cocaine use was excessive which coincided with her previous driving convictions.

‘She now, mostly, does not take cocaine.’

At that point the magistrate called for clarity on whether she still takes the drug before George interjected: ‘I don’t take cocaine now. I’ve not touched it since November.

‘It has ruined my life so I don’t do it any more.’

The presiding magistrate, sentencing George for a single count of driving while over the drug-drive limit, said: ‘This is a serious matter. Driving with drugs in your system is a concern to the courts as it kills people.’

George was handed a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work, told to pay a £95 surcharge and £85 costs.

She was banned from driving for three years.

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The magistrate added: ‘If you do it again then there is an option to send you to prison.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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