Latest news with #HayleyBerry
Telegraph
04-04-2025
- Telegraph
‘We snorted cocaine while our kids camped in the garden': The rise of drug-taking middle-class mums
Two recent stories have caused shock at the school gates. First, Hayley Berry – a mother addicted to cocaine who was so 'out of it', passers-by had to take her car keys and walk her children to school – was handed an eight-week jail sentence in 'one of the worst examples of drug-driving' the magistrate said he'd ever seen. Then there was the case of Amanda Mealing, the Casualty star who was banned from driving for 22 months after her vehicle collided with an oncoming car, seriously injuring the driver – a nurse and district councillor – last January. She, too, was high on cocaine at the time. These cases are particularly shocking because the last group that people expect to abuse cocaine is middle-class mums. Yet, until 11 months ago, I was in that unexpected cohort. I had taken the odd bump in my late teens but never considered myself an addict. Then, when I moved to London in my 20s to work as a make-up artist, a line often followed a glass of wine on Fridays, and the work-hard, play-hard environment I was in seemed to suit. Still, it seemed like the sort of thing I could just dip in and out of – everyone around me was doing it and it didn't control my life. When I met my now ex-husband and we moved to the countryside, near Bristol, I thought my life would change completely. I became pregnant and assumed that motherhood would be a different chapter in my life; that those old habits I had become keen to break would fall away. However, within a few years, I was searching for escapism again. I became a stay-at-home mum and my husband began working away a lot. Having a drink while my son was asleep on a Friday night was exciting; it became the mark of the weekend beginning and offered a much-needed feeling of freedom. But, while it would always start out with a drink, it soon led to something stronger. In hindsight, I think I was probably suffering from postnatal depression, and drugs filled the void within me, distracting me from my unhappiness. 'We'd take a couple of grams in the kitchen, then spend the rest of the night drinking wine' We had another child, and things stayed the same for the next few years. I was taking coke the odd weekend here or there, when I really craved a release, and my husband did it too. We'd take a couple of grams in the kitchen (it was never hard to get hold of), and then spend the rest of the night drinking wine. But when lockdown came, things began snowballing. We lived in a beautiful big house and, with the kids being homeschooled and nothing to do the rest of the time, we were desperate to get out of the monotony of Zoom lessons and living-room PE. Once the kids were in bed on a Friday night, that was my green light to indulge. Sometimes I'd stay up for 24 or 48 hours on the trot, or sleep away the entire weekend while someone else dealt with the children and took them to their activities. I never drove while in that state, and tried to keep things from my kids, but my eldest, then 10, did once see me with white powder on my nose, and asked me what it was. I said it was nothing and resolved to be more careful next time. I was far from the only one using cocaine among my mum friends though; some were indulging more than others during the week – before dinner or after stressful play dates. Whether providing a break from arguing over homework or the drudgery of pick-ups and drop-offs, the reason for us all was fairly uniform: craving the feeling of escape, like we didn't have to be mums anymore and could just forget about our lives. When it comes to being a mother, you don't get a day off, and it can be relentless. In those moments, it really didn't feel as though we were doing anything wrong, especially when we all did it together. With a big house, we'd invite friends over for the weekend, having cocaine-fuelled parties indoors while all of the kids camped overnight in the garden. When you're a parent, doing the things you enjoy or going out when you need time to yourself becomes more difficult. Like many mums, I was in the countryside and had aged out of the ways I previously got my highs; I had few friends nearby and needed a way to distract myself from the boredom. 'Suddenly I was a single mum in charge of two children; the break-up forced me to go to rehab' Cocaine-misuse deaths reached a record high in England and Wales last year, and that's scary. It took me until 2024 – the year that my marriage of 17 years ended – to finally kick my cocaine habit for good. My husband realised that his own reliance on alcohol was spiralling and went to rehab. While there, he called to say our relationship was over. I was shocked: I was suddenly a single mum dealing with the end of my marriage. I remember thinking, 'I'm in charge of two children; I don't want to live this life for a second longer.' The break-up forced me to go to rehab for four months (I didn't tell the children where I was going at the time) and really confront my issues. I see now that taking drugs is ultimately about not wanting to feel anything and running from your emotions. In my case, that included not liking myself very much and developing co-dependencies to people or substances. It's a dangerous place to find yourself in, and you have to work through your emotions (even the difficult ones) and not view them as something to hide or numb yourself from. When I returned from rehab, the first three months were difficult. I'd still have that Friday feeling, but I couldn't do anything about it. Now, instead of reaching for a glass of wine and then drugs, I attend Cocaine Addicts Anonymous meetings on Friday nights and follow the 12 Steps of recovery. 'I worry about the kids, given both their parents have struggled with substance abuse' I'm so much happier now that I've replaced addiction with connection, and have put more focus on my relationships rather than with substances. Instead of inviting mum friends round to do coke on a Friday night, I go for morning walks or coffee with others who are of a similar mindset. I've also given up alcohol completely, as it was always just a gateway for me. My old friends are proud of me for getting sober but, without drugs, the dynamic of our relationship has changed, and it's easier for me to be around those who are also in recovery. I don't see myself using drugs ever again. Since I came back from rehab, I've also had really frank conversations with my kids about addiction and drug use, and how dangerous it can be. I do worry about them, given that both of their parents have struggled with substance abuse. But I can only hope that, in being open about my past, they'll come to me if they do feel tempted to use in the future.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
Cocaine addict mother so ‘out of it' passers-by took her car keys and walked children to school
A cocaine addict mother was so 'out of it' on the school run a passer-by took her car keys and walked her children to class, a court heard. Hayley Berry, 36, was told by a magistrate it was 'one of the worst examples of drug-driving' he had ever seen. Other parents were concerned after Berry stopped her Ford C-Max in the middle of Grosvenor Road in Broadstairs, Kent, last year. A stranger – worried she was not in a fit state to drive – took her keys while others walked her children the rest of the way to their school, it was said. The police were informed and Berry was arrested at the scene and later charged. The mother, from Ramsgate, admitted drug-driving and driving while unfit through drugs when she appeared before magistrates in Margate on March 7. The court was told that when her blood was tested she gave a reading of 83 micrograms of the cocaine byproduct benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50. Magistrates heard she also had GHB – a drug with sedative and anaesthetic effects – in her system on the day she was arrested, but had not been over the limit for that substance. Lucie Fish, prosecuting, told the court Berry had stopped in the middle of the road with her children in the back on November 11 last year. Ms Fish said: 'A man took the keys because she looked like she wasn't in a fit state [to drive]. 'He put his hand up and stopped her and did take the keys, but then she parked up and some women walked the children to school.' Nigel Numas, defending, read out a reference from Berry's 'cocaine sponsor' – a recovering addict who helps someone to maintain sobriety – who said Berry had made some personal growth in the 24 months she had known her. The reference said she was now making better choices in her life, took responsibility for her actions, had genuine remorse and was determined to rebuild her life. Mr Numas added: 'The process [of her trying to beat cocaine] has been going on for a couple of years, but a man she was seeing gave her what she thought was a legal high and she drank it and didn't realise it was GHB. 'She's had two relapses [in the 24 months] so she's making great strides, but she was naive about what she drank.' Magistrates jailed Berry for eight weeks, but the term was suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. The chairman of the bench said: 'I must say this is one of the worst examples of drug-driving I've come across. You had your youngest children in the back of the car and you were out of it. 'I don't want to think what could have happened.' Berry was also disqualified from driving for 30 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and £85 court costs. She will pay what she owes the court at a rate of £20 a month as she is on Universal Credit. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
17-03-2025
- Telegraph
Cocaine addict mother so ‘out of it' passers-by took her car keys and walked children to school
A cocaine addict mother was so 'out of it' on the school run a passer-by took her car keys and walked her children to class, a court heard. Hayley Berry, 36, was told by a magistrate it was 'one of the worst examples of drug-driving' he had ever seen. Other parents were concerned after Berry stopped her Ford C-Max in the middle of Grosvenor Road in Broadstairs, Kent, last year. A stranger – worried she was not in a fit state to drive – took her keys while others walked her children the rest of the way to their school, it was said. The police were informed and Berry was arrested at the scene and later charged. 'Wasn't in a fit state' to drive The mother, from Ramsgate, admitted drug-driving and driving while unfit through drugs when she appeared before magistrates in Margate on March 7. The court was told that when her blood was tested she gave a reading of 83 micrograms of the cocaine byproduct benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50. Magistrates heard she also had GHB – a drug with sedative and anaesthetic effects – in her system on the day she was arrested, but had not been over the limit for that substance. Lucie Fish, prosecuting, told the court Berry had stopped in the middle of the road with her children in the back on November 11 last year. Ms Fish said: 'A man took the keys because she looked like she wasn't in a fit state [to drive]. 'He put his hand up and stopped her and did take the keys, but then she parked up and some women walked the children to school.' Nigel Numas, defending, read out a reference from Berry's 'cocaine sponsor' – a recovering addict who helps someone to maintain sobriety – who said Berry had made some personal growth in the 24 months she had known her. The reference said she was now making better choices in her life, took responsibility for her actions, had genuine remorse and was determined to rebuild her life. 'Naive about what she drank' Mr Numas added: 'The process [of her trying to beat cocaine] has been going on for a couple of years, but a man she was seeing gave her what she thought was a legal high and she drank it and didn't realise it was GHB. 'She's had two relapses [in the 24 months] so she's making great strides, but she was naive about what she drank.' Magistrates jailed Berry for eight weeks, but the term was suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. The chairman of the bench said: 'I must say this is one of the worst examples of drug-driving I've come across. You had your youngest children in the back of the car and you were out of it. 'I don't want to think what could have happened.' Berry was also disqualified from driving for 30 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and £85 court costs. She will pay what she owes the court at a rate of £20 a month as she is on Universal Credit.
