A delivery driver who took drugs and crashed into a barrier on the A55 has been banned from driving for a year.
Paul Allen Hilton, 43, had taken cannabis before the collision and hadn’t realised it would still be in his system.
He lost control of his Mercedes Sprinter van at Llanddulas on the offslip road and collided with the barrier.
Hilton, of Briggs Avenue, Crewe, today pleaded guilty to drug driving on the A55 in the incident on March 9 at Llandudno Magistrates Court.
Deputy District Judge Anita Price disqualified Hilton from driving for 12 months and fined him £120.
Prosecutor James Neary told the court that Hilton had been driving his van when the single-vehicle accident happened at 8.45am that day.
FREE Court newsletter and Facebook group
You can now get the latest reports from courts in North Wales delivered straight to your inbox - and it's all for free.
We'll send you a roundup of the latest cases from our reporters in the courts at Caernarfon, Llandudno and Mold.
We'll only send you one e-mail a week and it's free to signup.
For more information about how to subscribe click here.
If you have a Facebook account, you can join our private North Wales Court Reports Facebook group to read the latest court cases.
He had collided with the barrier on the off-slip road at Llanddulas. Police officers attended and took a drugs swipe sample which was positive for a form of cannabis - a controlled drug.
Sarah Yates, defending, said Hilton’s job had involved long hours and starting at 1.30am.
He had suffered a heart attack about a year earlier and his job was stressful.
A friend had offered him the cannabis to help him sleep. He hadn’t realised how long the drug would be in his body.
Hilton was deeply remorseful said Ms Yates.
She added: "He was driving along the road and a car undertook him. As he came off (the sliproad) he couldn’t stop at the crash barrier. The gravel caused his car to slip and swerve.’ He is ‘deeply embarrassed’ about the incident as he doesn’t take drugs regularly.
It was a "great lesson" for him to learn to refuse such offers from a friend in future.
In a letter, Hilton told the court he had lost his job due to this incident and is since claiming Universal Credit.
Hilton said he had let down his family and "upended" his loving relationship with his wife of 15 years.
The Deputy District Judge told Hilton the effects of drug driving are similar to the effects of drink driving.
She said: "This is a very costly lesson."
Hilton was also ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.
