A woman who drove under the influence of diazepam has been fined £1,200 and banned from driving for two years.

Stephanie Ann Brown had previously denied the offence but changed her plea to guilty on Tuesday (October 31), the day before her trial.

The 36-year-old was also ordered to take an extended driving test at the end of her ban.

Prosecuting advocate Hazel Carroon told the court that police received calls from two separate witnesses on February 26, at around 3pm.

They reported that Brown was driving a Volkswagen Touran erratically on the Old Castletown Road in Douglas.

Police located her and pulled her over.

Brown told them that her children had been arguing in the car and that had affected her driving.

A breathalyser test proved negative, but a drug wipe test proved positive for cannabis.

Brown told officers she had smoked the drug the night before but felt fine.

She was taken to police headquarters where a blood sample was taken and sent to the UK for analysis.

The results later showed Brown to be below the legal limit for cannabis, but produced a reading of 864 for diazepam.  The legal limit for that is 550.

When interviewed, the defendant, who lives at The Threshold in Jurby, told police she had left home at about 1pm and drove a friend to Castletown, with two of her children in the car, then gone to Tesco.

She said the children were arguing and she may have hit the kerb at one point.

Brown said that she had been struggling with her mental health and had previously been prescribed diazepam, but had stopped taking it.

She said she still had some leftover, so had taken some for the three nights before driving, adding that she did not know she would be over the limit.

Defence advocate Jane Gray reiterated that her client had previously been prescribed the drug, and said that this was why she had initially pleaded not guilty, but now accepted that she had taken 40mg the night before.

‘There were no set directions but she recognises she was over and above what her usual dose would be,’ said the advocate.

Ms Gray said that police had followed Brown from Tesco to White Hoe Industrial Estate, and had not reported any bad driving while they were present.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood also ordered Brown to pay £500 prosecution costs, due to preparation work done for a trial.

She will pay the fine and costs at a rate of £10 per week, deducted from benefits.