A woman who used cocaine to deal with the pain of a wrist injury was stopped by Leicestershire Police after being spotted speeding up a city street. The officers were on patrol in Hinckley Road in Leicester when they spotted Sharon Hextall’s BMW speeding along the road.
Police followed the vehicle but only caught up with her after she pulled into Meridan Leisure Park near Braunstone Town. She was arrested and taken to a police station where a blood sample was taken which showed she was four times the limit for cocaine.
Analysis later showed she had 208 microgrammes of a by-product of cocaine called benzoylecgonine in her blood. The legal limit is 50 microgrammes.
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While taking cocaine is always illegal, it is also a driving offence if a large amount is present in a driver’s system. The case against 50-year-old Hextall was outlined at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (January 2).
Prosecutor Sally Bedford told the court: “On June 18 at about 11.30pm police officers were on patrol on the A47. Ahead they saw the defendant driving her vehicle at speed. The officers managed to catch up with the vehicle as it turned into Meridian. The defendant co-operated in a roadside test which indicated she may well have drugs in her system.”
The police caught up with Hextall after she pulled into Meridian Leisure Park
(Image: Google)
Ms Bedford said Hextall had been disqualified from driving in 2015 for drink-driving. Rachel Gaffney, representing Hextall, said her client had not been drinking since the previous offence and was only taking cocaine to “manage pain” after a wrist injury.
She added that Hextall was the carer for her elderly mother and that Hextall herself had a heart condition that made her unsuitable for unpaid work. Hextall, who was sobbing in court, was asked by the chair of the bench Steven Kitchington if she was okay.
She replied: “Sorry. I can’t believe what I’ve done. I’m ashamed of myself.”
Hextall, of Parry Close, Earl Shilton, near Hinckley, pleaded guilty to driving over the limit for drugs. She was banned from driving for 36 months and ordered to pay a £200 fine, £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
She told the magistrates: “Can I say sorry? I’m sorry. I hate myself for it.”