A TEENAGE driver has been banned from the roads after he was caught with ketamine in his system.

Bradley Robert Gunn admitted the offence when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police had been on patrol on the B4349 near Clehonger just before 11.30pm on October 14 when they pulled over a black Renault Twingo for a moving traffic offence, prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said.

Driver Gunn was asked to take a roadside drug test after noticing his pupils were small and his skin was pale, and was arrested after it returned a positive result.

An evidential blood test in custody revealed 19-year-old Gunn had 136 microgrammes of ketamine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 20.

Edmund Middleton, for Gunn, said drugs are not tested for in the same way as alcohol.

"There's no evidence of bad driving," Mr Middleton said.

"This is because there is a zero tolerance approach to drug driving. This was a routine traffic matter, but it was his appearance that resulted in a sample being taken.

"It is clear that this has already had real consequences for him as he lost his job at a stone yard when he told his employer. He is living with his parents and wants to go back to work as soon as possible, but it is going to be difficult for him to get work while banned from driving."

Gunn, of Clehonger, Herefordshire, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £120. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.