A DRUG-driver had been using recreational drugs to help her get through a difficult time, a court has heard.

Goya Rebecca Keeley Davies admitted the offence when she appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police had been on patrol in the Shinwell Road area of Hereford at around 7.40pm on October 15 when they saw Davies behind the wheel of her Vauxhall Corsa, prosecutor Shafquat Reaz told the court.

They decided to speak to her and asked her to take a roadside drug test, which she failed.

An evidential blood test revealed she had 613 microgrammes of cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50.

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Chris Read, for Davies, said the 37-year-old had just pulled up outside her home when police came to speak to her about another matter.

"As a result of that conversation they decided to drug test her, which has lead to this court case," Mr Read said.

"There was no indication of bad driving.

"She tells me that in the middle to late part of 2020 she was going through some difficult times and had started to use recreational drugs. She had taken the cocaine quite some time before and had no idea it would remain in her system for that length of time."

The court heard Davies has since sought help from Addaction.

Davies, of Shinwell Road, Hereford, was disqualified from driving for 16 months and fined £120. She must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.