A MOTHER who passed her driving test three years ago but has only recently bought a car has now been banned because she had two different drugs in her system. 

Lisa Meredith was “shocked and disappointed” she was over the limit when she was spoken to by police in Llandrindod Wells on January 6 this year, although she has a history of drug use.

Llandrindod Wells Magistrates’ Court heard this week that PCSO Mike Davies followed the 42-year-old into the town’s Tesco car park on the evening of January 6 – it was found that Meredith had both cocaine and cannabis in her system.

Skye Connors, prosecuting the case in Llandrindod on Wednesday, August 28, said: “It was 8pm and PCSO Mike Davies was on patrol on Waterloo Road.

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“He saw a pink Daihatsu vehicle and followed it into the Tesco car park. He suspected the driver may have been under the influence.

“A roadside test was positive and she was taken to Brecon Police Station.”

Ms Connors said Meredith, of Trefonen Way, Llandrindod, had a recent drug offence dating back to January 2023.

Meredith had entered previous guilty pleas to driving with both drugs in her system. She provided readings of 207 micrograms for benzoylecgonine (BZE, a cocaine compound) and 2.2 micrograms for cannabis – the legal limits for both are 50 and 2 micrograms respectively.

Probation officer Donna Davies, reading from a pre-sentence report on Meredith, said: “She admitted using cocaine and cannabis. She has a history of drug use.

“Previously she had not had a car due to her drug use. She was shocked and disappointed she was over the limit.

“She had bought a car so she could visit her children in south Wales; she passed (her test) three years ago."

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Speaking in her own defence, Meredith said: “They (the police) didn’t pull me over because I was off my head, they did so because the car wasn’t insured.

“Also, letters went to a different address in the area which shouldn’t have happened as the police know where I live.”

Meredith was banned from driving for 22 months. She was also handed an 18-month community order, which will include 25 rehabilitation activity days (uplifted instead of a financial penalty).

She must also pay a £114 surcharge and £85 costs.