An actress who starred in BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City has admitted drug driving after she ploughed into a Skoda at 10.14am, leaving a nurse who was at the wheel seriously injured.
Magistrates heard Amanda Mealing, who played cardio thoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp in the hit shows, drifted across a road before colliding with Mark Le Sage’s vehicle as he was on his way to work.
Prosecutor Marie Stace told the court Mealing, 57, who appeared under her married name of Amanda Sainsbury, suffered a cut to the head, a broken wrist and a broken clavicle in the January 2024 smash.
She admitted driving with cocaine in her system and driving without due care and attention and was banned from driving for 22 months and ordered to pay a fine of £485.
A court heard the actress, who has also appeared in the hit film Four Weddings and a Funeral as well as directing episodes of Casualty, Waterloo Road and Coronation Street, had 18mcg of cocaine in her blood, the legal limit being 10mcg, and in excess of 240mcg of benzoylecgonine (the chemical that cocaine leaves after being metabolised by the body) – almost five times over the legal limit of 50mcg.
Ms Stace said Mr Le Sage, who is also a district councillor, remembered ‘an explosion and his car began to spin’ after Mealing’s Mini Cooper smashed into his Skoda on the A1175 at Hop Pole, near Stamford in Lincolnshire.
She added: ‘He started to panic, the car was full of smoke and he couldn’t get out because his foot was stuck under the pedal.
Magistrates heard Amanda Mealing, who played cardio thoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp (pictured) in the hit shows, drifted across a road before colliding with Mark Le Sage ‘s vehicle as he was on his way to work
Prosecutor Marie Stace told the court Mealing, 57, who appeared under her married name of Amanda Sainsbury, suffered a cut to the head, a broken wrist and a broken clavicle in the January 2024 smash (pictured)
Ms Stace said Mr Le Sage (pictured), who is also a district councillor, remembered ‘an explosion and his car began to spin’ after Mealing’s Mini Cooper smashed into his Skoda on the A1175 at Hop Pole, near Stamford in Lincolnshire
‘He did get out and was assessed by a paramedic who said he needed to go to hospital.
‘There was a witness following the Mini, who said he assumed there was something in the road because it went onto the other side of the carriageway.
‘Ms Stace said that in a police interview Mealing admitted taking cocaine the night before.’
The Spalding and South Holland Voice reported Mr Le Sage suffered serious injuries in the crash and is still feeling the effects 14 months later.
In a victim impact statement which he read out in court, Mr Le Sage, who is a member of the independent group on South Holland District Council, said he has been unable to continue in his job as a theatre nurse as his fine motor skills have been severely affected.
He also said he is no longer able to carry out his hobbies as keyboard player in local band Zebra and he cannot play water polo any more.
He said he has continuing problems with his sight and hearing, as well as suffering from constant pain in his legs, neck, shoulder, back and hip. He also has flashbacks and nightmares about the crash.
Mealing left Casualty in March 2021 after seven years. Her solicitor, Edward Lloyd, told the court the defendant does not accept Mr Le Sage’s account of his injuries, he wasn’t taken to hospital by ambulance and there’s no evidence of that level of injury.
He said: ‘In terms of the offence, my client pleaded guilty to drug driving at the very first opportunity.
A court heard the actress, who has also appeared in the hit film Four Weddings and a Funeral as well as directing episodes of Casualty, Waterloo Road and Coronation Street , had 18mcg of cocaine in her blood, the legal limit being 10mcg, and in excess of 240mcg of benzoylecgonine. Pictured: On Casualty in 2020
She admitted driving with cocaine in her system and driving without due care and attention and was banned from driving for 22 months and ordered to pay a fine of £485. Pictured: In 2018, left, and 2012, right
Mealing left Casualty in March 2021 after seven years. Her solicitor, Edward Lloyd, told the court the defendant does not accept Mr Le Sage’s account of his injuries. Pictured: In December
‘It’s something she’s deeply ashamed of. She’s not somebody who takes drugs at all. Her brother died of a drugs overdose when he was 18 and she says herself that she should have known better.’
He said she was having a terrible time following the death of her father, her best friend and her dog, and she was also going through divorce proceedings.
She visited a friend where she took the drugs and stayed overnight.
She drove home the following morning and was just yards from her front door at Deeping St Nicholas when the accident happened.
Mr Lloyd told the court that Mealing couldn’t initially offer any explanation as to why her car drifted across to the other side of the road.
However, paramedics at the scene thought she was having a hypoglycaemic attack as her blood glucose levels were alarmingly low, which could have been the cause of the accident.
He added: ‘She simply doesn’t know what happened, she suspects that she was unconscious.’
No medical evidence was offered to the court that Mealing suffers with diabetes and Mr Lloyd said on the basis of the evidence, an expert couldn’t conclude that she was unconscious at the time of the accident.
Mr Le Sage suffered serious injuries in the crash and is still feeling the effects 14 months later. Pictured: With his new Skoda
Mr Lloyd told the court that Mealing couldn’t initially offer any explanation as to why her car drifted across to the other side of the road
He added: ‘She’s reluctantly accepted my advice that in the circumstances, she’s in a car, it’s drifted over to the other side of the road, so she has to plead guilty.
‘She was horrified about what happened, she still is.’
Mealing admitted driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit and driving without due care and attention.
The court heard that, as it’s still not known what caused her blood glucose levels to drop, Mealing had surrendered her driving licence.
The court heard she is not currently working and that she is receiving a ‘token salary’ of £935 a month from her employer.
No compensation order was made, as the court said this was a matter for insurance companies to deal with.
The court heard she had no previous convictions of a similar nature, but that she had been banned from driving previously under the penalty points totting-up procedure.
Speaking after the hearing on Friday, Mr Le Sage said: ‘I’m glad it’s over for my family and I’m so lucky and grateful for their support over what has been a very difficult time.
‘I hope the Sainsbury family can now also get on with their lives.’
