Bolton Man Banned from Driving for Cocaine Offence
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Bolton Man Banned from Driving for Cocaine Offence
- A Bolton man, Christopher Mann, received a 16-month driving ban after being caught with cocaine and its metabolite in his system while driving without insurance.
- Mann, 41, pleaded guilty to the offenses at Manchester Magistrates' Court on September 16, 2026, and was also fined £200.
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Christopher Mann, a 41-year-old from Edge Hill Road, Bolton, was disqualified from driving for 16 months by Manchester Magistrates’ Court. The court heard that on February 20, 2026, Mann was driving a Vauxhall Astra on Deansgate, Blackpool, without insurance. He was also found to be driving under the influence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine, a cocaine metabolite.
Mann pleaded guilty to all charges on September 16, 2026. In addition to the driving ban, he was fined £200, ordered to pay £85 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service, and an £80 surcharge, totaling £365. The payments are scheduled to begin on October 14, 2026, in monthly installments of £20. His driving record was endorsed, but no additional points were added, and he received no separate penalty for failing to surrender to police or court bail.
In the UK, it is illegal to drive with certain levels of illegal drugs in your blood, even if your driving is not impaired. The legal limit for cocaine is 10 micrograms per litre of blood, and for its metabolite, benzoylecgonine, it is 50 micrograms per litre. Penalties for drug driving include a minimum 12-month driving ban, an unlimited fine, and up to six months in prison. A drug driving conviction remains on a driving record for 11 years and can significantly increase car insurance costs and affect international travel.