Young man’s cry for help over drug fears in Bassetlaw

Police found 20-year-old Braden Hoey sitting in his car with the key in the ignition and the engine running, outside Carlton Youth Centre, on Lawn Road, Carlton-in Lindrick, on January 21, said prosecutor Neil Hollett.

He appeared to be under the influence of something and told them he had taken cocaine and cannabis, and didn't trust himself to drive.

But tests showed he wasn't over the specified limits for drugs or alcohol.

A small amount of cannabis was found in Hoey's car and he told officers he bought the vehicle for £100 earlier that day, and was driving it without a licence or insurance.

"It appears to be a cry for help," said Mr Hollett. Hoey claimed he had a £300-£400 weekly drug habit.

The court heard he missed probation appointments in March and June, after receiving a suspended sentence, imposed for a knife offence, in January.

Abbie Edwards, mitigating, said Hoey became dependent on cocaine as a means of coping with grief after his best friend was killed in a motorcycle accident.

She said there was no evidence of bad driving and there was only a small amount of cannabis.

He has since spent a month in a private rehab centre in Leeds and is now clean of drugs. He has also found a job in the cladding business.

"Things are really now looking up for him," Ms Edwards said. "His mother is devastated that he has been before the court so many times in the last few years.

"He runs the real risk of going into custody if he doesn't prioritise the probation service."

Hoey, 20, of Caperns Road, Rotherham, admitted driving without a licence or insurance, possession of a Class B drug, and breaching a community order, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He received a six week curfew, from 8pm to 5am, and six points on his licence. He was fined £350 with a £35 surcharge, £85 court costs and £60 probation costs.

Magistrates told him: “If you come back before the courts again you will go to prison.”

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