Pong arm of the law

Police bust coked-up driver with child in the back after smelling dope from inside patrol car

A DRIVER with a child in the back seat was pulled over by police because his car stank so strongly of cannabis that cops could smell it while driving past him in the other direction.

Sean Waddelow, 27, was tested for drug driving and found to be 13 times the legal limit for cocaine, a court was told.

Prosecutor Sarah Smith told Falkirk Sheriff Court that Waddelow’s Vauxhall Astra was seen by police officers travelling in the opposite direction in Plean, near Stirling, at about 6.30pm on November 17.

Mrs Smith said: “It appears the officers’ car window was open and both police officers detected a very strong smell of cannabis emanating from the silver Astra. They pulled the vehicle over and the accused was found to be the driver. A four-year-old child was asleep in the car.”

Waddelow was arrested and a sample of his blood showed he was 13 times the legal limit for cocaine. He was not over the limit for cannabis.

The Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 lets people on certain medicines drive within the law but the limit for controlled drugs is very low – cannabis is set at two microgrammes per litre of blood, while cocaine is 10.

Wa d d e l o w, of Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, pled guilty last week to driving with cocaine in his system and without a licence or insurance. Sheriff Derek Hamilton deferred sentence until November 19, adding: “Incredible sense of smell these police officers must have.”