March 19, 2019 2.54 pm This story is over 61 months old

Drink driver found with fake cash and drugs

He was jailed for 15 months
Shaun Thomas was jailed for 15 months. Photo: Lincolnshire Police

A driver was found with a stash of forged bank notes when he was stopped for being drunk at the wheel, Lincoln Crown Court was told on Tuesday.

Shaun Thomas was driving along Rookery Lane in Lincoln when he was asked to pull over by police.

Rosemary Kavanagh, prosecuting, said that Thomas had £200 worth of fake £20 notes in the car and a variety of drugs including amphetamine, cannabis, diazepam and zopiclone.

“He said he bought the bank notes knowing that they were fakes. He said the drugs were for self-medicating.”

Thomas went on to admit he had originally bought £500 worth of counterfeit notes for which he paid £150. He said he had already exchanged two of the fake notes for a genuine £20 note.

Thomas, 45, of Romney Close, Lincoln, admitted having custody or control of a quantity of counterfeit Bank of England notes on March 10, 2018.

He also admitted five charges of illegal possession of drugs. He was jailed for 15 months.

Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told him: “This offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be passed. There was a considerable quantity of notes. There must be a sentence of immediate custody.”

David Stanton, in mitigation, urged that any jail sentence should be suspended.

“He has a number of health complaints. There is a liver problem and he has problems with his oesophagus that affects his voice. He struggles with that.”

Mr Stanton said that Thomas also suffers from anxiety and mental health issues.

He told the court: “This is a pathetic man who took it upon himself, without thinking it through, to grab an opportunity to get money cheaply and spend it. He used it to supplement the benefits he was on. He has been a foolish man.”