Storrington woman banned from roads after being caught drug-driving

Jackie Hutt, of Browns Lane, was stopped by officers on the A27 near Chichester on Saturday June 27 after cannabis could be smelt from outside of her vehicle, police said.

The 57-year-old appeared at Worthing magistrates on Tuesday, September 1, and was sentenced to pay a combined total of £365 and was disqualified from driving for 40 months.

More than 100 drug-driving incidents have been dealt with by Sussex Police since the laws surrounding drug driving were changed in March 2015, where specified amounts of several drug types have been given limits like drink-driving.

The tests not only cover illegal drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, and heroin but also a number of prescription drugs including temazepam, diazepam and methadone.

PC Jon Bennion-Jones from Arundel’s Road Policing Unit said: “Drug-driving is dangerous and unacceptable and is now much easier for us to detect and convict drug-drivers with the new powers we have.

“If anyone suspects someone of drink or drug-driving, there are several ways that they can contact us and thanks to public assistance, we are catching more people and the conviction numbers are rising.”

People in Sussex can text officers on 65999 with the details of people they suspect of drink or drug driving or visit www.operationcrackdown.co.uk