A TEENAGE mechanic “showed ignorance” by getting behind the wheel of his car after smoking cannabis and taking MDMA.

Billy Lee Griffiths was nearly three times the legal driving limit for both drugs when he was stopped by police in Knighton on March 3 this year.

The 19-year-old, who was making his maiden appearance before a court, admitted two charges of drug driving before Llandrindod Wells magistrates on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Stephen Davies told the hearing Griffiths, of Victoria Road, Knighton, was stopped at around 9.45pm driving a red Peugeot in the Fronhir area of the town.

“PC Jones had cause to stop the Peugeot, he had earlier seen the defendant driving on the A4113 near Knighton Primary School,” said Mr Davies.

“He spoke with the defendant whose eyes were glazed. He could not smell intoxicants but there was a strong smell of cannabis coming from the car. There was also a male and a female passenger in the car.

“A drug swipe at the scene was positive for cannabis. The cannabis amount was 5.9 micrograms per litre – the legal limit being 2. The MDMA was 27 micrograms per litre – the legal limit is 10.”

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Acting for Griffiths, who appeared dressed in a suit and was accompanied by his parents, Stephen Scully said there was no suggestion of bad driving.

“The cannabis smell came from the passengers in the car. He made the mistake of going to collect a friend as a favour.

“You are dealing with a man who has not troubled the courts before and was an occasional recreational user of drugs at the time. He showed ignorance by not knowing you should not be going near a car if you’ve been taking drugs.

“He is an apprentice mechanic at a local garage in Ludlow. He has explained his situation to work, it is not clear what will happen yet but they haven’t sacked him yet so it depends on the outcome of this hearing.

“He is genuinely remorseful, but lacks a certain maturity. This is a mistake that won’t be repeated.”

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Magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report on the matter and, later in the day, heard from probation officer Rachael Lonsdale, who said Griffiths had started using cannabis at 16 and that developed into a daily habit.

“He has reduced his intake significantly, this has been a wake-up call, and he has ceased using MDMA altogether,” said Ms Lonsdale.

Magistrates made Griffiths the subject of a 12-month community order, which will include 40 hours of unpaid work. He was disqualified from driving for 23 months and must pay £85 costs and a £90 surcharge.