Mother, 31, who took cocaine at a party and drove her friend’s Range Rover while 11 times the drug limit to collect her 13-year-old daughter from a sleepover gets a three-year driving ban

• Single mum took cocaine and two days later drove to pick up her daughter  
• She was pulled over by chance and found to be 11 times over the drug limit
• Kerry Walker admitted drug driving and was handed a three-year driving ban

A single mother-of-two who was caught driving her friend’s Range Rover 11 times over the drug limit only got behind the wheel because her teenage daughter begged to be picked up from a sleepover.

Kerry Walker, 31, admitted in Stockport Magistrates Court to snorting cocaine at a party and driving 21 miles two days later on April 9 to Edgeley to collect her daughter.

The cleaner was banned from driving for three years, fined £120 and ordered to pay £129 in costs and a victim surcharge. 

She maintained she had no intention of driving that evening but felt compelled to respond to her 13-year-old daughter’s urgent call.

She described her actions in court as the result of a ‘stupid decision’. 

Kerry Walker, 31, admitted in Stockport Magistrates Court to snorting cocaine at a party and two days later driving 21 miles to Edgeley to collect her daughter on April 9

The part time cleaner was banned from driving for three years, fined £120 and ordered to pay £129 in costs and a victim surcharge

Walker was only stopped by police by chance after the luxury red Range Rover Evoque she borrowed from a friend was flagged by a number plate recognition app.

The car was flagged as being driven on an invalid Spanish insurance policy.

Routine tests conducted at the scene showed traces of cocaine compound Benzoylecgonine in her system amounting to 557 microgrammes in 100 millitres of blood. The legal limit is 50mg. 

She also tested positive for cocaine itself.

Walker, of Wythenshawe, Manchester, had previously been banned from driving for 14 months after she was caught behind the wheel while 1.5 times the legal alcohol limit in 2019.

Simon Morton, representing Walker, said: ‘Ms Walker is horrified by the realisation that she will be losing her licence again and she is genuinely remorseful for her actions.

‘She had no intention of driving on that day and it did not cross her mind that drugs would still be in her system. With regards to the insurance, she genuinely believed that the Spanish insurance policy that her friend had on the car would cover her driving. She was not to know that the type of policy that she was driving under would not cover her whilst driving in the UK.

‘She is a single mother to two children and works part-time as a cleaner, earning roughly £240 per week.’

Simon Morton, representing Walker, said: ‘Ms Walker is horrified by the realisation that she will be losing her licence again and she is genuinely remorseful for her actions

Gareth Hughes, prosecuting, told the court Walker was compliant during the routine stop. 

In sentencing, chairman of the magistrates Paul Dunn said: ‘You do appear to be truly remorseful and we do understand your reasons for getting behind the wheel. Of course, your daughter will always come first.

‘However, taking control of a vehicle when under the influence is never acceptable. Even if the drugs in question were ingested a few days prior. We hope that this has given you another wake-up call.’

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