A MAN who used cocaine as a coping method has been banned from driving for 16 months after driving while more than 15 times over the legal drugs limit.

Leslie David Gadd, 49, was pulled over by police on Bath Street, Hereford, after his vehicle flagged up as not being taxed. He tested positive for having illegal drugs in his system at the roadside.

He was also searched by officers who found a small bag of cocaine.

Benzoylecgonine (BZE), the substance which appears in the body after taking cocaine, was present at a level of 788 micrograms per litre, with the limit being 50 micrograms per litre.

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Gadd appeared at Hereford Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and three charges of drugs-driving, being under the influence of cocaine, benzoylecgonine and MDMA.

Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Gadd, said: "He co-operated. He was asked to stop for having no valid tax and was found in possession of a small amount of cocaine.

"His driving wasn't impaired. He was pulled over for no tax.

"He used cocaine and BZE is a breakdown product from that. He didn't know there was MDMA was in the cocaine, but that's no excuse."

Gadd returned to the UK after being deported from Australia in 2017, leaving behind his terminally ill wife.

Gadd, of no fixed address, was also ordered to pay £185 in costs, a £125 fine and £30 victim surcharge.