Telford motorist banned from driving after testing positive for cocaine derivative

A Ketley Bank man has been disqualified from the roads for 17 months after he was caught driving with more than ten times the specified limit of a controlled drug in his system.

Daniel Preece, 35, of Fourth Avenue, appeared before Telford Magistrates’ Court on 6 March 2026 to answer charges following an incident that took place last autumn.

The court heard that on 29 September 2025, Preece was driving a Toyota Verso on Castle Farm Way in Priorslee when he was found to have a proportion of Benzoylecgonine—a metabolite of cocaine—in his blood.

The reading was recorded at 537 micrograms per litre of blood, significantly exceeding the legal limit of 50 micrograms.

In addition to the drug driving offence, Preece was also charged with using the vehicle on the M54 without third party insurance on the same date.

He entered guilty pleas to both charges, which the magistrates took into account during sentencing.

For the drug driving offence, Preece was ordered to pay a fine of £970 and costs of £85 to the Crown Prosecution Service. Along with the 17-month driving ban, his driving record was endorsed.

No separate penalty was issued for the insurance offence, though his record was similarly endorsed.