Retford man on cocaine flipped mum’s car onto roof after crashing into field

Mark Woodliffe's Jeep Renegade was found upside down in a field, off Grove Road, outside Retford, at 11.30am, on January 8, said prosecutor Nicole Baughan.

The 44-year-old was nowhere to be seen, but when police finally traced him he said he was picked up by a friend after the accident.

A blood test showed he had 18 microgrammes of cocaine when the specified limit is ten microgrammes.

Ryan Higginbotham, mitigating, said Woodliffe, who has no previous convictions, was remorseful.

He had been drinking with friends throughout the previous afternoon and evening and consumed cocaine, he said.

The next day Woodliffe “felt able to drive and didn't feel impaired but he still had those intoxicants in his system,” Mr Higginbotham said.

“No one else was involved in the crash,” he said. “This is not something he would ordinarily do. Alcohol is the more prominent feature of his life.”

He said Woodliffe was divorced in January and this exacerbated his long-term anxiety and his alcohol misuse got worse

He is now taking medication for anxiety and realises he needs to make a change in his life by tackling his alcohol use.

Woodliffe, formerly of Jenkins Avenue, Retford, and now of Church Laneham, admitted drug driving when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

He was fined £200 with an £80 surcharge and £85 costs. He was disqualified from driving for 20 months.