A POLICE officer smelled cannabis coming from a moving car leading to the conviction of a drug driver, magistrates heard.

Luke Dean Frayling, 28, of Roman Road, Holmer, Hereford, pleaded guilty to drug driving at Hereford Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Amy Davies, prosecuting said that at 10pm on February 16, police were on patrol on Roman Road when they decided to follow a Ford Fiesta and could smell cannabis coming from it.

"The car was stopped and police spoke to the owner whose pupils were enlarged and he smelt of cannabis," said Mrs Davies

Frayling gave a reading of 9.7 microgrammes of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (the active compound found in cannabis) per 100ml of blood, the legal limit is two.

Magistrates heard that Frayling had previously been convicted of drink driving in 2008 and 2010.

Chris Read, mitigating said that the previous drink driving offences went back six-and-a-half years.

He said: "Drug and drink driving are very different and people's knowledge of the drink limit is greater than drugs.

"Frayling had finished work and accepts smoking cannabis five or six hours earlier but had no idea it would still be in his system."

Magistrates disqualified Frayling from driving for three years.

He was also ordered to pay a £400 fine, £135 costs and a £40 victim surcharge.