A BANNED Herefordshire man has been jailed after he was caught out behind the wheel just months after being ordered off the roads.
Andrew Stuchbery entered a guilty plea to five counts of driving while over the drug limit, two counts of driving while disqualified, one count of driving without a licence, and two counts of driving without insurance when he appeared before magistrates in Kidderminster in August.
The court heard from prosecutor Eleanor Peart that the 31-year-old, who was represented at the hearing by defence solicitor Mark Sheward, had been caught out on the B4361 at Luston after getting behind the wheel of a Suzuki Ignis while over the drug-driving limit on November 20.
ALSO READ:
- Trees to be felled in Herefordshire as ash dieback hits
- Eight 'smaller' homes planned for Tupsley, Herefordshire
- Hereford's Beefy Boys burger hailed by food TikToker
An evidential blood test revealed that he had 32 microgrammes of controlled class A drug cocaine and 800 microgrammes of cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The respective legal limits are 10 and 50 microgrammes.
He had also been disqualified from driving at the time and did not have a valid insurance policy in place, the court heard.
He had also been caught driving a Peugeot 5008 in Leominster's Bridge Street while over the drug-driving limit on May 30, 2021, the court was told at the hearing, with an evidential blood test showing he had 3.1 microgrammes of controlled class B drug cannabis product delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood, over the two microgramme limit, 55 microgrammes of cocaine, and 800 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood.
Stuchbery was driving without insurance and without a valid licence at the time, the court heard.
Magistrates said the offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified due to his previous convictions for drug-driving, his failure to comply with court orders, and as he drove within three months of being banned from the roads.
Stuchbery, of Bridge Street, Leominster, was jailed for 24 weeks and disqualified from driving for 1,545 days.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £135 and a £154 victim surcharge.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel