A BANNED driver has had a "lifelong" problem with substance abuse, a court has heard.

Philip Stephen Phillips admitted drug-driving and driving without insurance when he appeared before Hereford magistrates.

Prosecutor Jonathan Purser said Phillips had been pulled over by police in Oldfields Close, Leominster, at 9.30pm on September 10 after checks showed he did not have insurance.

Phillips, who has two previous drink-driving convictions and is currently subject to a three-year driving ban after being convicted of drug-driving last year, was asked to take a roadside drug test, and was arrested after it returned a positive result for cocaine. An evidential blood test showed he had 109 microgrammes of cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50.

Edmund Middleton, for Phillips, said the 43-year-old, who is currently out of work, had been blighted by substance abuse throughout his life.

"This offence was committed after the last, but a month before he was convicted in 2020," Mr Middleton said.

"He describes using drugs for the majority of his life, and his ongoing problem with substance abuse is a problem for him, but for somebody who has had such a lifelong problem with substance abuse, his driving record is better than it might have been."

The court heard a further driving ban would put a strain on family relationships for Phillips, who has been struggling to find work after losing his previous employment 12 months ago.

Phillips received a further 12-month driving ban, to run concurrently to his previous ban, and was fined £120. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.