A CARER has been banned from the roads after taking an illegal drug the day before getting behind the wheel.

David Griffiths admitted one count of drug-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police had stopped Griffiths behind the wheel of a Ford Focus on the A465 in Herefordshire at 2.30pm on August 14, prosecutor Mark Hambling said.

Griffiths was asked to take a roadside drug swab test and arrested after it returned a positive result for cannabis.

An evidential blood test revealed he had three microgrammes of class B drug cannabis product delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The legal limit is two microgrammes.

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Chris Read, for Griffiths, said there was really little to say about the the 51-year-old's case.

"This was a routine traffic stop," Mr Read told the magistrates.

"There was no criticism of his driving and he was marginally over the limit.

Mr Read said Griffiths had not taken the drug on the day he was caught.

"It was 2.30pm and he fell into the trap that many do, as he had used cannabis the day before and had no idea it would stay in his system," Mr Read said, telling the court that a ban would cause difficulties for Griffiths, who is a full-time carer for his parents.

Griffiths, who is of Clos Hen Ysgol, Ebbw Vale, was fined £120 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

He must also pay prosecution costs of £135 and a £48 victim surcharge.

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