- Abbie Kenningley was driving at 1am in Southport town centre, Merseyside
A dog grooming businesswoman who passed two roadside drug-driving tests was about to be released by police when she said she had been taking ketamine.
Abbie Kenningley, 21, was told to take a breath and drug wipe test after officers said she was driving erratically at 1am in her VW Polo following a night-in at a friend’s house.
But after the same negative return, a suspicious policeman who noticed Kenningley dazed and unable to stand, asked him what he was doing that night and he confessed: ‘ketamine’.
He was then arrested and returned to the police station who gave another test which showed he was almost five times the limit for party drugs.
On Friday, Kenningley, who lives in a remote farmhouse with his parents in Banks, Southport, Merseyside, faced a road ban after he admitted drug driving.
The incident happened at 1.10am on Sunday, December 3 last year when police spotted Kenningley driving his car through Southport town centre.
Mr Alex Farrow, prosecuting, told Sefton JPs: ‘The officers stopped at a red traffic light and next to them they saw the defendant alone in a car. He appeared dazed and pulled up in front of a police car where they were monitoring his driving record.
‘He seemed to be struggling to stay in the lane and was swaying from side to side. There was no indication when he turned off the roundabout and as they continued he crossed the center white line into the opposite carriage and again, he swung.
‘He turned left and then went completely against the carriageway putting his car on the opposite side of the road and the police activated emergency lights to stop the car. The car did stop and he parked it at an angle to the road with its back facing the road.
‘He was asked to get out of the car. He was unsteady on his feet. He appeared lethargic, dazed and confused. It was noticed that his eyes were glazed over. He was asked what he was doing and he replied “ketamine”.’
Tests showed that Kenningley, who runs a dog grooming business, had 96 micrograms of ketamine per 100 milliliters of blood. The legal limit is 20mg.
But mitigating the defence, solicitor Marcella Salter said: ‘He will not appear in the courts but on his own recognizance. That night the defendant stopped at an angle as he thought the police car was trying to pass him.
‘He didn’t appreciate that the officers were trying to stop him. He spoke to officers who believed he was unsteady on his feet, so they asked him for a roadside breath test for alcohol. That returns a negative.
‘Then they saw the glazed eyes and with the way he was driving they asked for a drug swab sample. He administered a roadside drug swab – but that also came back negative.
So the officers were talking to the defendant, who was 21 years old, who had never been stopped by the police before, he had no previous convictions, no involvement with the police until the night in question, the officers asked him what he has was doing that night.
‘Obviously, there is no alcohol in his system, the drug wipe is clear, negative. The officers asked the defendant “What are you doing?” and by his own admission, he said he had gone to a friend’s house and used ketamine.
‘Once he said he was placed under custody and taken to a police station where he was asked to give a blood sample and that was dismissed and came back positive. He received a summons to court with a proper drug driving charge.’
Miss Salter added: ‘The defendant does not accept that the level of driving was as described. He does not accept that he crosses the white lines and waves between the white lines, where he is on the opposite side of the road.
‘But he was remorseful and that was confirmed in the reference of a social worker who had known the defendant for four years. He is self-employed, a dog groomer. He has been in business for about a year. He earns £150 a week. He takes from the business as his wages.
‘He lives at home with his parents and pays for his upkeep. She is a young lady who is trying to get ahead, not someone who is always in front of the court. No doubt the disqualification will affect his business but he needs to take responsibility for what he did on the night in question.’
Magistrates adjourned the case for Newton’s hearing in Liverpool in July.
