Berwick man admits drug driving after taking cocaine
A Berwick man was caught drug driving after his loud music was heard by police.
Magistrates heard that a police patrol car was refuelling at the Shell garage on North Road in Berwick on March 14 when Peter Durkovsky’s BMW caught an officer’s attention.
Prosecutor James Long told the court: “PC Snowball was in the passenger side while a colleague went to pay. A car drove in behind them at some speed but what attracted the officer’s attention, apart from the speed, was the very loud music coming from the vehicle which wasn’t turned down when the defendant got out to refuel his vehicle.
"A member of the public shouts across to the officer that he (the defendant) stinks of drink. They were wrong because it turned out it was drugs.”
Magistrates heard a breath test proved negative but the defendant failed a drugs test and was taken into custody where he proved positive for cocaine (21 ug/l – the limit is 10) and for the cocaine breakdown product Benzoylecgonine (800ug/l – the limit is 50).
In mitigation, Graham Crouth told magistrates the defendant had admitted taking cocaine when he was spoken to by officers.
"There was no evidence of an unacceptable standard of driving,” he added.
The 42-year-old, of Seton Gardens in Tweedmouth, was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £457.