Dangerous driver span out in Worksop carrying drugs and knuckleduster

CCTV cameras showed Jacob Foster spin out as he tried to take a corner of Gateford Road, seconds after people were seen crossing it, in the early hours of June 16, 2019, said prosecutor Daniel Pietryka.

The car spun 180 degrees before coming to a standstill, facing in the opposite direction, and he drove off at speed.

When he was stopped a short distance later, officers found a small amount of cannabis and a knuckle-duster in the car.

When he was interviewed at the police station he claimed to be an inexperienced driver, Nottingham Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.

Foster was on bail for these offences when police stopped him again driving a Vauxhall Combo, on Potter Street, in the town centre, at 3pm, on October 29, last year.

Officers smelled cannabis and a blood test revealed he had 5.3 mcgs of the drug in his system - two and a half times over the specified limit of 2 mcgs.

Tariq Hussain, mitigating, said Foster was going through "a period of difficulty" following the tragic loss of his best friend in an accident.

He said Foster had been numbing the pain with cannabis at the time, but there had been a big change in his attititude and maturity and he has since stopped smoking the Class B drug.

Reports from the courts: defendants from the Worksop area

He said the knuckle-duster was in fact a family heirloom, which had been passed down from his grandfather to his father, and was merely used as a belt-buckle.

Mr Hussain said Foster, who works in his family's vehicle hire company, has no previous convictions.

Foster, 21, of Bracebridge Court, Worksop, admitted possession of cannabis and the offensive weapon, but denied dangerous driving.

He was found guilty after a trial in March, last year.

Magistrates imposed a 12 month community order, with a four month curfew, from 8pm to 6.30am, and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He was disqualified for two years and he will have to take the extended re-test before he gets behind the wheel again. He was also ordered to pay £710 court costs and a £90 victim surcharge.

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