Jail for banned Hungerford driver caught behind wheel

Woman previously caused collision while driving high on drugs

A HUNGERFORD woman has been jailed for driving while disqualified.

Jacqueline Suzanne Tee, known as Jackie, had previously caused an accident when she drove while high on drugs.

As a result she was banned from driving and given a suspended jail sentence.

But on Thursday, February 18, Newbury magistrates heard how the 39-year-old, of Coldharbour Road, was caught behind the wheel again, thereby flouting both the driving ban and the suspended sentence order.

Helen Waite, prosecuting, said: “Just before 2pm officers caused a grey VW Golf to stop in London Road, Newbury.

“This defendant was behind the wheel and the officers discovered that she had been disqualified from driving the previous year and that the ban was still in force. Because she had no valid licence, it automatically follows that she was uninsured.”

Ms Waite told magistrates that a prison sentence of 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months, had been imposed alongside a driving ban last July.

Ms Tee admitted driving while disqualified and driving without insurance, both on January 27 and both during the suspension period.

She had also been subject to another, previous, driving ban in 1997, the court heard.

Mike Davis, defending, said his client had accompanied a seriously ill male friend to a doctor’s appointment and that he had driven them there legitimately.

However, he added: “The doctor said that person should go to hospital immediately, by ambulance.

“This left her with a dilemma.

“She panicked and made the foolish decision to drive the car the relatively short distance from the surgery to the friend’s home in Newbury. She was stopped by the police en route.

“On the last occasion, she was caught driving under the influence of drugs and there was an accident.

“There’s no suggestion her driving was impaired on this occasion.”

Magistrates then heard a probation officer’s report which stated that Ms Tee had been “consistently using heroin on top of her prescribed [heroin substitute drug] methadone”.

As a result her prescription had been stopped, according to the report, which concluded: “This latest offence demonstrates that she is still making silly decisions.”

A probation officer said Ms Tee had missed six appointments and concluded: “This is not a positive report.”

Mr Davis said his client now had a new methadone prescription and was no longer “topping up” with illegal heroin.

He pleaded with the court not to activate the suspended prison sentence, claiming it would be unjust to do so.

However, after retiring to confer with a colleague, presiding magistrate Tony Ayres said the bench disagreed.

He described the probation report as “far from satisfactory”, thereby ruling out a further community-based penalty.

Mr Ayres told Ms Tee: “The suspended sentence was imposed for a similar offence.

“You did drive that day knowingly; you knew you were breaking the disqualification.

“We believe we have no option but to activate that suspended sentence.

“These latest offences, in their combined nature, are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is justified.”

Ms Tee was jailed for a total of 12 weeks.

In addition she was banned from driving for two-and-a-half years and ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge when she is released from prison.