Mother banned after driving on GHB in Oswestry

Naomi Jones, 28, of Welsh Walls in Oswestry, was spotted driving erratically through Oswestry town centre on April 19.

Her Vauxhall Astra clipped another car and the kerb and she drove through a red light at a junction.

Jones pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs at a hearing at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court yesterday.

Mr Mike Phillips, prosecuting, said police had received two calls shortly after 7pm from residents concerned about how the car was being driven.

Officers found the car stationary at the middle of a junction at Oswald Road, with Jones sat close by at the side of the road.

They reported the defendant having glazed eyes, leading them to suspect she was under the influence of GHB. Tests carried out at Shrewsbury Police Station revealed she had a reading of 85 milligrams per litre of GHB in her blood.

Ms Ceri Lewis, defending, said Jones' daughter had been at her mother's house when she had taken the drug at about 6.15pm. But she received a call shortly afterwards to say her daughter had fallen off a trampoline and decided to drive to her mother's house. She said Jones had been "self-medicating" by taking the drug and has subsequently been diagnosed with depression.

Magistrates banned Jones from driving for three years and ordered her to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months.

She was also ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £65.

Her three-year disqualification could be reduced by 274 days if she completes a rehabilitation course.