Abergavenny care worker who drove teens while ‘stoned’ is struck off

A CARE worker drove two teenagers back from a concert in Bristol, while under the influence of marijuana, a disciplinary hearing has heard.

Leighton Maxwell Rosser, 33, has been found guilty of misconduct and struck off the Care Council for Wales’ register following the incident in February.

Rosser had taken the 16-year-old, who was in the care of the Cwm Mawr Residential Home, near Abergavenny, as well as his 16-year-old girlfriend to a concert in Bristol.

The hearing in Cardiff yesterday heard that while waiting to take the teenagers back to Abergavenny, Rosser met up with friends. After driving back to the home, colleagues became concerned he was under the influence of drugs.

Residential care worker Matthew Stephens told the hearing: “His eyes were bloodshot and he was talking loudly and quickly and he had lots of food. When we were walking from the office, Leighton tripped over his feet.

“I said, ‘You’re stoned, aren’t you?’ and he said, ‘Yes, don’t tell anyone’. I told him he’d crossed a line and he was bang out of order.

“I told him he’d driven back from Bristol with two young people, one of whom was not in our care. The weather was awful that night.”

Mr Stephens called colleague Kerry-Marie Underwood for advice and she came over to the centre to talk to Rosser. She told the hearing he admitted to her he had smoked marijuana.

At a later disciplinary meeting with senior staff at Greenfields Adolescent Development Ltd, Rosser admitted to having been in a room with six to eight prolific smokers but denied smoking. However, he accepted this could have meant he was passively smoking.

As a result of the meeting Rosser was dismissed from his position.

The hearing committee found Rosser guilty of misconduct in relation to charges that he consumed an illegal substance, and drove and attended the home while under the influence.

They ordered him to be removed from the register, saying he had put service users, the public and himself at risk and had undermined public confidence in the social care services.

As Rosser did not attend the hearing or offer any evidence, the committee said it could not be sure he understood the seriousness of his actions.