Matthew Smalley was taken to the police station after being pulled over on Pentrebane Road, Cardiff
A FAIRWATER man left the police station with a black eye and broken glasses after fainting while giving a blood sample, a court has heard.
Prosecutor Kelly Rivers told Cardiff Magistrates Court that on November 6 last year, Matthew Smalley of Ashcroft Crescent was driving along Pentrebane Road when police stopped his car after seeing his vehicle had a rear light out.
Officers noticed Smalley, 32, had red eyes and smelt of cannabis. A roadside wipe test was conducted which tested positive for cannabis.
Smalley was subsequently taken to the police station for a blood sample which showed a reading of 9.8 micrograms of cannabis per litre of blood. The legal limit is two micrograms.
During the blood sample, Smalley fainted, hitting his face which gave him a black eye and broke his glasses, the court was told.
Smalley stood before Cardiff’s magistrates as he entered a guilty plea to driving under the influence of cannabis.
His lawyer, Chris Lacey, said his client “had brought it on himself”.
The court heard that Smalley had recently suffered a relationship break-up and occasionally used cannabis to de-stress himself.
Smalley had a previously clean record and was fully compliant with police during his arrest. All of his legal documents were in order when he was pulled over.
The court was told that a driving ban will have implications for Smalley as he travels the country by car due to his job as an audio technician.
Magistrate, Patricia Blackwell, handed Smalley a 12-month driving ban, the minimum disqualification for this offence and he was made to pay a total of £449. This includes a £260 fine, £85 in court costs and a £104 surcharge.
