Barrow woman banned from driving after cocaine reading 16 times legal limit
A Barrow woman has been banned from driving for 40 months. After being caught behind the wheel with a cocaine-related reading 16 times the legal limit.
Jessica Kelly was stopped by police while driving a white Vauxhall Vivaro. Traveling along Cavendish Street in Barrow on December 1, 2025.
The 25 year old, of Marsden Street, pleaded guilty to drug driving, driving without a licence and driving without third-party insurance when she appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court on June 17.
Magistrates fined Kelly £260 and disqualified her from driving for three years and four months. She was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £112 victim surcharge.
Police checks revealed no valid insurance
Prosecutor Lee Dacre told the court that officers on mobile patrol stopped Kelly after police database checks showed the vehicle was not covered by valid insurance.
Kelly was asked to provide a roadside DrugWipe sample, which tested positive for benzoylecgonine.
Benzoylecgonine is the main substance produced by the body after cocaine has been consumed and is used when testing motorists suspected of drug driving.
Kelly was arrested and later provided a blood sample.
The court heard that the sample contained no less than 800 micrograms of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The legal driving limit is 50 micrograms per litre, meaning her reading was at least 16 times the permitted level.
Previous driving convictions
Magistrates were told Kelly had previously been disqualified from driving for 14 months on June 28, 2023, following a drink-driving conviction.
She was then caught drug driving on July 9, 2025.
Kelly committed the latest offences on December 1, before she was sentenced for the July drug-driving incident seven days later.
Her previous motoring convictions were considered by the court when deciding how she should be sentenced.
Defence says driving was not below standard
Defending Kelly, solicitor Shaun Harkin said her previous convictions were the main factor that made the latest offences more serious.
He told the court there had been no evidence of an unacceptable standard of driving and that no other drugs were found in her system.
Mr Harkin said Kelly was not currently employed and was in the process of applying for benefits.
He told magistrates that Kelly had felt able to drive at the time but accepted that getting behind the wheel had been an “error of judgement” that she should not have made.
Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban alongside the financial penalties.
The total amount Kelly was ordered to pay came to £457, including the fine, court costs and victim surcharge.
