Mark Waters, of Wilton, was pulled over while driving this HGV in Dorset. Picture: Dorset Police

Wilton HGV driver Mark Waters banned after being six times the limit for cocaine

Paul JonesJuly 23, 20250 Comment0

AN HGV driver from Wilton has been banned from driving for three years after being found to have six times the legal limit of cocaine in his system while behind the wheel in Dorset.

At around 12.45pm on Saturday, March 29, officers spotted a man driving an Iveco heavy goods vehicle along the A31 Ringwood Road at St Leonards while holding his mobile phone up to his ear.

They followed the vehicle and also saw the driver was not wearing his seatbelt.

After pulling over the driver – Mark Waters – a roadside drug test was carried out which returned a positive for cocaine.

Waters, of Thornton Crescent, Wilton, was arrested and taken to custody.

Analysis of his blood found benzoylecgonine – a metabolite of cocaine – present at more than 300 micrograms per litre. The legal limit is 50 micrograms per litre.

On July 7, the 28-year-old appeared at Poole Magistrates’ Court, where he pleaded guilty to using a handheld mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle on a road, driving on a road while not wearing a seat belt and driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

He was sentenced to a three-year driving disqualification, a 12-month community order with 100 hours unpaid work, and ordered to pay a £154 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

After consultation with the Office of the Traffic Commissioners, the defendant had his HGV licence revoked for a further year on top of the three-year ban and will be unable to reapply for his HGV licence until July 2029.

The defendant was also issued £1,100 fixed penalty notices due to a number of tachograph breaches, including driving without a tachograph card, failing to maintain records, insufficient rest and driving period too long.

Police Sergeant Dave Cotterill, of the Dorset Roads Policing Team, said: “This month, as part of a national campaign we are putting the spotlight on the biggest killers on the roads in Dorset, known as the fatal five.

“The fatal five includes drink and drug driving, excessive and inappropriate speed, not wearing a seatbelt, driver distractions such as using a mobile phone and dangerous or careless driving.

“The defendant in this case was committing three of the five fatal five offences, putting not only himself but other road users in serious danger. He also admitted a series of tachograph breaches – rules that are put in place to safeguard the driver and the public.

“Through our proactive enforcement activity, we were able to prevent a collision from occurring and ensured this motorist was taken off the roads.

“We want to remind everyone to always take the time to perform safe manoeuvres, do not get distracted by your mobile phone, keep within the speed limits, always wear a seatbelt and do not drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”