A DRUG-user drove two miles the wrong way down the A380 dual carriageway towards Newton Abbot after getting confused by the satnav app on her phone.
Hayley Fortune was on her way home from a holiday in Devon when she took the wrong turning out of a filling station on Telegraph Hill and started heading back towards Newton Abbot.
She managed to avoid cars heading towards her in the dark and had pulled into a layby when police caught up with her and noticed a strong smell of cannabis in her Audi A3 car.
She had a cannabis spliff in her pocket and small amounts of cannabis and amphetamines elsewhere in the car or her luggage. Tests showed she had levels of both drugs in her bloodstream at levels that made it unsafe for her to drive.
Fortune, aged 27, of Yeoman Way, Trowbridge, who has one child, admitted dangerous driving, two counts of drug driving, and personal possession of cannabis and amphetamines.
She was jailed for seven months, suspended for 18 months, banned from driving for a year, and ordered to do 15 days of rehabilitation activities and undergo a six month drug rehabilitation course by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.
He told her: 'Whatever caused you to go onto the wrong side of the dual carriageway, it is likely to be down to impairment caused by the drugs you had taken.
'As with drinking and driving, those who take drugs and drive are often a little too arrogant in terms of acknowledging they are still under the influence. That’s what drugs do to your mind.
'You obviously made a highly dangerous manoeuvre and risked causing damage and personal injury to those driving towards you and yourself.
'Goodness knows what it would have done to your mother and your child and you also risked going to prison, which would have had an awful effect on those close to you. I hope this has been a wake-up call for you.'
Mr Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said Fortune joined the wrong carriageway of the A380 after leaving a filling station at 1.50 am on September 29 last year and drove 2.3 miles with cars coming towards her.
Police found her car stopped in a layby and smelled cannabis as soon as they opened the door. They found a cannabis joint in her pocket and recovered 5.94 grams of cannabis and 6.22 grams of amphetamines.
She admitted taking drugs before she drove and had levels of amphetamine of 302 microgrammes per litre of blood and 3.5 of THC, the active ingredient of cannabis. Despite both drugs being illegal, there are legal limits for driving, which are 250 for amphetamines and 2.0 for THC.
She told police she had been confused by the satnav she was using on her phone because it was dark and the phone was the wrong way up.
Mr William Parkhill, defending, said the shock of this case had led her to make changes in her life and she is keen to get help to overcome her drug abuse.