Source: Merseyside Police published on this website Thursday 5 March 2026 by Jill Powell
A man who was in the middle of his driving test in St Helens was stopped by officers and arrested for drug driving.
At around 5pm Sunday 1 March, officers on patrol in the area stopped a vehicle on King Street after spotting that a brake light wasn’t working.
Officers could smell cannabis when speaking to the driver, who was on his driving test, and he subsequently failed a drugs wipe. He was also found to be in possession of cannabis.
A 26-year-old man from Wigan was arrested on suspicion of drug driving and taken into police custody. He has since been released under investigation.
Roads Policing Inspector Simon Wilson said: “Officers rightly pulled over the car after noticing that a brake light wasn’t working, which is dangerous not only for the occupants of the vehicle but also other road users.
“After speaking to the driver, it was clear that there was much more for officers to be concerned with and he was arrested on suspicion of drug driving.
“Although some people may find the humour in the fact someone on a driving test was arrested, drug driving is no laughing matter. It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to get behind the wheel of a vehicle under the influence of drugs and it’s an offence we take seriously at Merseyside Police.
“Every year we run Operation Limit, which is a nation-wide initiative which aims to tackle drink and drug driving across the festive period. However, we are determined to improve road safety all year round and work continues to crackdown on selfish drivers who pose a risk to themselves and others.
“Our stance on illegal substances is clear: nobody should be taking them. But even if you choose to break the law and take illegal drugs, that does not give you the right to endanger the lives of innocent people on the roads who have no way of knowing you are driving intoxicated.”
If you suspect someone is currently driving under the influence, call 999 immediately. For non-urgent information, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously
