Driver failed drug test tells court he 'had never knowingly' taken cocaine

A driver who was marginally over the limit for cocaine said he had never knowingly taken the drug.

Michael Cook, 43, had an accident on the A47 at Emneth when his Vauxhall Combo van collided with a Scania lorry, causing its fuel tank to burst.

It happened at about 8.40am on June 2, 2020.

Cook failed roadside drug wipe and a test in custody showed 11 micrograms per litre of blood in his system. The legal limit is ten.

At King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, he pleaded guilty to drug-driving. The court was told he had an excess alcohol conviction within the past ten years, which would trigger a mandatory minimum three-year ban.

Andrew Cogan, mitigating, said the accident happened as the result of a burst tyre.

“What he tells me is that he has not taken cocaine as a recreational drug. How has the cocaine got into his system?

“He has a problem with his teeth. He was given something by a pharmacist and by a friend to rub in. He doesn’t know what was in it.

“He’s got nowhere to go in terms of whether he’s guilty or innocent of this particular offence.”

Cook, who gave an address in Fen View, Doddington, was disqualified for three years, fined £120 and ordered to pay £50 costs and £34 victim surcharge.