Mother banned from driving after being 11 times drug-drive limit

Mother-of-three, 29, known as ‘Crazy Em’ is banned from driving after being caught in her BMW X5 while ELEVEN times the drug-drive limit at 11am after cocaine-fuelled night out with partner

Emily Stopforth tested positive for cocaine and cannabis in system in February
She admitted drug driving but she didn’t realise cocaine would still be in system
Stopforth was fined £180 and ordered that she pay £119 in costs and victim surcharge. She was also banned for the minimum amount of 12 months

A mother of three – known as ‘Crazy Em’ – has been banned from driving after being caught 11 times the drug-drive limit at 11am after a cocaine-fuelled night out.

Emily Stopforth, 29, of Merseyside, was stopped in her grey BMW X5 more than 13 hours after she had been snorting the drug with her partner whilst her children were being looked after by a babysitter.

Tests showed she had traces of cocaine and cannabis in her system with a sample showing she had 560 micrograms of benzoylecgonine, a derivative of cocaine, per litre of blood in her system. The legal limit is 50mg.

This week Stopforth, of Hesketh Bank near Southport, who gave herself the ‘Crazy Em’ nickname on Facebook, admitted drug driving but said she did not realise the breakdown product of cocaine would still be in her system.

Emily Stopforth (pictured outside court), 29, of Merseyside, was stopped in her grey BMW X5 more than 13 hours after she had been snorting the drug with her partner whilst her children were being looked after by a babysitter

For drug driving, the magistrates fined Stopforth £180 and ordered that she pay £119 in costs and victim surcharge. They also banned her for the minimum amount of 12 months ‘because of the mitigating circumstances’.

She claimed she needed her car to take two of her children aged 11 and seven on the school run. She had a third child aged just two.

Scott Woodward, prosecuting, told Sefton JPs: ‘It was Wednesday 9th of February and shortly before 11am when officers sighted the defendant’s grey BMW X5. Officers caused the vehicle to stop due to the front seat passenger who was seen fidgeting.

This week Stopforth, of Hesketh Bank near Southport, Merseyside who gave herself the ‘Crazy Em’ nickname on Facebook admitted drug driving but said she did not realise the breakdown product of cocaine would still be in her system

‘Upon opening the car door, the officers could smell cannabis coming from the vehicle and therefore, a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act was conducted.

‘The defendant was asked to take a roadside drug wipe test which was positive for cocaine and cannabis. She was therefore taken into custody where a sample of blood was obtained.

‘The results for benzoylecgonine were not less than 560 micrograms per litre of blood, the legal limit being 50. She is of previous good character.’

In mitigation Stopforth’s solicitor Amanda Sheppard said: ‘At the end of January her mother had been given a diagnosis of sclerosis of the liver with a life expectancy of two years.

‘Shortly after this she took an overdose and ended up in A&E and a few weeks later she went off the rails a bit and took cocaine on occasions.’

For drug driving, the magistrates fined Stopforth £180 and ordered that she pay £119 in costs and victim surcharge

Miss Sheppard added: ‘She did take cocaine on a night out with her partner. It was a rare night out, she has three children and was in bed by 10pm.

‘She did not think that the cocaine taken the night before would still be in her system. She’s not a frequent user of drink and drugs necessarily and therefore she did not understand the consequences of how that would stay in her system for a number of days after that.

‘She’s the only driver in her family. She has children of 11, seven and two going to a school three miles away from her house.’

Saying that her terminally ill mother and other members of the family are dependent upon her because of the car, Miss Sheppard said that her client’s loss of licence would affect others too.

They also banned her for the minimum amount of 12 months ‘because of the mitigating circumstances’

‘This error of judgement is going to impact not just herself but others in her family. A lot of people are relying on her so it’s going to be a let-down,’ the solicitor said. ‘She is absolutely mortified by her actions and the impact it will have on her family.

‘The aggravating factor is that there was another person in the car. The drug is benzoylecgonine and not cocaine. It is a derivative of the drug she had taken the night before, it is a product of the breakdown of the drug itself.

‘I ask you for the minimum ban given the impact that this is already going to have on her and her other family members.’

For drug driving, the magistrates fined Stopforth £180 and ordered that she pay £119 in costs and victim surcharge.

They also banned her for the minimum amount of 12 months ‘because of the mitigating circumstances’.

Chairwoman of the bench, Angela McIntyre said: ‘We have listened very carefully to everything that’s been said today and we will deal with you by way of a financial penalty.

‘It was an expensive cocaine hit with everything that has happened. I would not bother doing it again.’

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