A Powys mum caught driving with two drugs in her system told police she had ‘been on a sesh the night before’

Samantha Godding had 22 times the limit of drug Benzoylecgonine in her body.

She was stopped while driving metres from her home and was on her way to Llandrindod Wells lake to calm herself.

The 39 year-old was over the drug driving limit with two drugs in her system, she had no licence and is a provisional driver, and she had no insurance.

Godding of Orielton, Temple Drive, Llandrindod Wells admitted driving a Renault Clio on Park Terrace on September 13 2025 with 39 micrograms of cocaine in her body when the limit is 10, and driving with 1097 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine

when the limit is 50 micrograms, when she appeared at Llandrindod wells Magistrates Court last week.

She also admitted driving without a licence, insurance or a test certificate on the same day.

Prosecuting, Ms Skye Connors said in the early hours PC Bunning was on patrol when he witnessed the red or orange Clio on Park Terrace. 

He pulled up next to the vehicle at a roundabout to ask about an unrelated matter. He could see Godding was extremely anxious, she was unable to answer simple questions and she was quivering, it raised the officers suspicions.

Ms Connors said the officer asked her to turn engine off. She explained she had no driving licence and the officer ran other checks confirming she was a provisional holder. There were no ‘l’ plates on the car and no qualified supervisor.

A roadside drug wipe was positive and Godding said “she had been on a sesh the previous night”. 

Tests later showed she had 1097mcgs of Benzoylecgonine

in her body, the limit is 50, and 39micrograms of cocaine the limit is 10 micrograms.

The court was told Godding has nine convictions for 15 offences.

Mitigating, Ms Edwina Gatehouse said Godding volunteered information to the police that she had no entitlement to be on the road. 

She said Godding was metres from her own home and she was observed to be in a peculiar state, because she was distressed. I

Ms Gatehouse said: “She intended to drive from home to lake – a place where she is able to calm herself and stabilise her mental health. That is where she was going.”

She explained that in August 2025 Godding suddenly lost her father after a heart attack, which had caused her profound grief.

Then in September her daughter became suddenly and seriously ill and she remains ill now.

Ms Gatehouse said Godding had been intending to get her driving licence back and that is why she bought the car so she would be able to help her daughter as there is no cure for her condition.

“She knows it’s not acceptable, cocaine is a coping mechanism for her. When things get difficult for her she resorts to cocaine use. She has got herself some help, she has engaged with Kaleidoscope and she has been drug free for eight weeks,” Ms Gatehouse said.

“She wants to pull herself together to be there for her daughter. She wants to use her time to undertake an open university course in child psychology. 

“In 2023 she lost her partner, whose body she found and she suffers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from that. She has had a lot of personal issues.”

Magistrates fined her a total of £421. For drug driving and for having no insurance the magistrates fined Godding £120 each, they gave no separate penalty for not having a licence and a certificate but they said her licence would be endorsed.

She will also have to pay a £96 surcharge and £85 costs. She was banned from driving for 18 months