A 51-year-old man was last week sentenced by Bath magistrates for driving while unfit through drugs and for possessing ketamine.
Wayne Craddock, of Greenways at Radstock, had admitted the offences at a court appearance in January when he also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence.
At the time, magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report and imposed an interim driving disqualification.
Craddock, who had previous driving offences, was back in court for sentencing on Wednesday 18th March.
The court heard that at 9.20pm on 24th June 2025, a member of the public had called 999 to say a car had crashed into a pole in Frome Road in Radstock.
Police and ambulance attended and Craddock was found slumped in his seat; his speech was slurred and he was slow to respond. He was also unsteady on his feet. A search of his vehicle revealed 0.2 grams of the Class B drug ketamine.
A urine sample revealed 14 different drugs in his system, although none was over the legal limit for driving.
The Probation Service told the court that Craddock has “complex needs” and was not suitable for the type of mental health treatment requirement (MHTR) or drug rehabilitation requirement (DRR) that the service could offer.
Instead, probation officers recommended an 18-month community order with a curfew and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) days.
Duty solicitor Jennifer Stetson told the court that Craddock, who is in “quite poor health”, was disappointed not to be considered suitable for a MHTR.
Magistrates agreed with the recommendations of the Probation Service. The three-month 6pm to 6am curfew will involve electronic tagging.
Craddock was also disqualified from driving for 48 months.
He was given no separate penalty for the ketamine and licence offences but was ordered to pay a court surcharge of £115.
