Hereford drug driver was over seven times the limit

A DRUG driver was over seven times the limit when he was caught in Hereford.

Steven Howells, of Hunderton Road, was behind the wheel of a red Vauxhall Vivaro van when police stopped him in the same road at 1.30pm on July 15, 2023.

Prosecuting at Hereford magistrates court, Lauren Millichip said officers described the 45-year-old's pupils as being small and pale. 

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After failing a roadside test, Howells was arrested and taken to Hereford police station.

An evidential drug test there showed he had a massive 357 micrograms of benzoylecgonine (the main metabolite of cocaine) in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 50mcg. 

The court heard that Howells told police he had taken cocaine at 9pm the previous evening. 

Representing himself, he pleaded guilty to one count of driving while a proportion of a controlled drug was above the specified limit, and one count of using a motor vehicle without third party insurance.

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Howells told the court he had just tested the van because he was going to buy it for his work.

"There is no reason for it," he said.

"I can only apologise."

Howells was disqualified from driving for three years and fined £350.

He will also have to pay court costs of £135 and a government surcharge of £140 respectively.