A STEYNTON woman has been ordered to pay more than £1,000 after being caught behind the wheel with two illegal drugs in her system.

Charlotte Whelton, 37, was stopped by officers at around 9.30am on April 6 as she drove her BMW along Milford Road in Johnston.

During a conversation with police, Whelton admitted she was a drug user. Subsequent blood tests carried out at the police station showed she had 75mcg of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, and 400mcg of the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine in her system.

The legal limits are 10mcg and 50mcg respectively.

This week Whelton, of Stryd Shearwater, Steynton, Milford Haven, pleaded guilty to two charges of drug-driving when she appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates.

She was represented in court by solicitor Michael Kelleher.

“She had no idea that she had taken two different drugs and was shocked they were in her system,” Mr Kelleher told the Bench.

“She had been out with friends, drugs were passed around, she took some, but she did not realise what she had taken.”

Magistrates fined Whelton £667 and ordered her to pay a £300 court surcharge and £85 costs, bringing the total to £1,052.

She was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

A PEMBROKE DOCK woman has narrowly avoided immediate custody after turning up for a community order appointment while heavily under the influence of drugs.

Shannon Charge, 30, was made subject to a 12-month community order on February 2, which required her to attend regular drug rehabilitation activities.

But Haverfordwest magistrates heard this week that she failed to attend an appointment on April 28. Then, on May 26, although she did arrive for a rehabilitation activity, she was heavily under the influence of drugs.

“The order was made after she breached a previous order which had exactly the same requirements,” probation officer Julie Norman told the court.

“So two breaches have taken place.

“We know that the defendant has recently gone through some personal difficulties and obviously we’re here to help her, but she has been out of contact for some time.”

Ms Norman said there remained a reasonable prospect that the probation service could continue to support Charge.

Charge, of Pater Court, Pembroke Dock, pleaded guilty to breaching the community order. She was represented in court by Tom Lloyd.

“My client knows that any further breaches will mean an immediate term of imprisonment, and this is not the place she wants to be,” Mr Lloyd told magistrates.

“The last two months have been extremely traumatic for her and she desperately needs help. She is a drug addict with massive problems and she knows she is in a bad place.”

Magistrates sentenced Charge to 12 weeks in custody, suspended for 18 months.

She must complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, including a nine-month drug rehabilitation programme. She was also ordered to pay £60 costs.

A WOMAN stole toys from a Pembrokeshire petrol station and threw them outside after being told she was not entitled to free alcohol, magistrates have heard.

Jolene Probert, 49, entered Bush Hill Service Station in Pembroke on May 28 and asked staff for alcohol which she believed she was owed.

Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates that when Probert was told there was no free alcohol for her, an unpleasant exchange followed.

“The defendant then walked away, placed some toys in a basket and walked outside,” said Ms Vaughan.

The toys were later recovered after being found strewn across the lawn and hedges outside the garage.

Defending, solicitor Michael Kelleher described the incident as “a rather sad case”.

“Even though she has accepted the incident, in her police interview she described it as a manic episode and said she did not know why it happened,” he told the court.

“She put some toys into her basket to give to children playing on the green, but when she realised there was no one there, she threw the toys out.”

Probert, of Shoulder of Mutton, The Green, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to theft and to failing to surrender to custody at a previous court hearing on June 23.

Mr Kelleher said she had known she was required to attend court, but had got the date wrong.

“She turned up on the wrong day,” he said.

The court was also told that Probert, who has bipolar disorder, had been receiving the wrong medication at the time of the offence.

After considering the mitigation, magistrates imposed a six-month conditional discharge.

Probert was also ordered to pay a £26 court surcharge.