A WOMAN who drove while over the limit for drugs, weeks after receiving a suspended prison sentence, was told by a judge she was, “skating on thin ice.”

Police travelling on the A167 in Crossgate Moor, Durham, were able to smell cannabis from the Renault Clio car in front, at 7.45pm on Wednesday May 1.

Durham Crown Court was told the Clio was pulled over and driver Kathryn Jennings was subject to a roadside drug test, which proved positive.

Andrew Finlay, prosecuting, said a further test at the police station gave a reading three-and-a-half times over the legal limit for cannabis.

It put her in breach of a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, imposed on March 28, after she admitted theft of between £14,000 and £19,900, while managing the Chester Moor pub, near Chester-le-Street, in 2016/17.

Jennings, 34, of Willowtree Avenue, Gilesgate Moor, Durham, admitting driving with excess drugs in her system in breach of the suspended sentence.

Amrit Jandoo, in mitigation, said she suffers “significantly” from depression for which she is on medication while she also cares for her ailing parents.

Judge Jonathan Carroll told Jennings she was, “skating on thin ice”, but, as an act of “humanity and clemency”, given her parents’ health, he deferred sentence for six months, provided she steers clear of illegal drugs and complies with her mental health treatment.