A drug-driver with a child on board was driving on the wrong side of the road when he caused a crash on the A595.

The victim had been driving a Suzuki Swift at the Seascale / Gosforth junction at 8.45pm on April 7, when she was in a road traffic collision, Workington Magistrates’ Court heard.

Pamela Fee, prosecuting, read a statement from the victim which said she had just come round the corner when she saw a car moving towards her on the wrong side of the road.

The driver was not moving back on to the right side of the road.

At this point, the woman had to steer right. The front left of her vehicle collided with the Vauxhall Mokka, which was being driven by Mark Richardson, 31.

She said she saw Richardson walk around the rear of his vehicle and a young girl get out of the passenger side.

Richardson then shouted at the victim to get out of her car because it was smoking and he asked if she was ok.

She said the defendant was doing a lot of pacing and gave her a hug which she thought was weird behaviour.

Police then arrived and took control of the scene.

She said the collision had caused her to have very bad bruising.

A statement from PC Begby, who attended the incident said Richardson had told him he had changed a tyre on the vehicle at Holmrook.

A drugs wipe was positive for cannabis and he was arrested. The officer described him as “stressed” and “agitated”.

At the police station it was discovered that the drugs wipe had gone out of date.

A second drugs wipe was negative so a blood sample was taken. This showed Richardson had 2.8mcg of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The limit is 2mcg.

A couple of other drugs were also detected in the sample, the court heard.

Ms Fee said the offence was aggravated due to the road traffic collision and by there being a 13-year-old girl in the defendant’s car.

John Cooper, defending, said: “When the police attended, he was on the phone to the police to report himself.

“He tells me he had a crash half an hour before and had to change the tyre on the car. That was the first time he had ever changed a tyre.

“He has continued to drive to try to get home. He feels it was about 20mph.

“The car has gone on to the wrong side of the road. He can’t say why that has happened.

“As far as the drugs are concerned, it’s not massively over the limit.”

He said the other drugs in the defendant’s system included a prescription drug he takes after he suffered a broken back from another car crash.

Mr Cooper said: “He tells me he smokes cannabis because of his back.

“He phoned police to report himself. There was full co-operation throughout the proceedings.”

Richardson, of Longbarrow, Cleator Moor, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

Lead magistrate Leswyn McCallum said the aggravating features of the case were the “unacceptable” standard of driving, the defendant had caused an accident which caused injury to a third party and there had been a child in the defendant’s car.

She added that magistrates accepted that he had shown remorse and co-operated with the police.

The case was adjourned until November 7 to allow a pre-sentence report to be carried out by the probation service.

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