A STUDENT has been banned from the roads after an early-hours police stop.

James Beddows admitted drug-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on January 14.

Prosecutor Shafquat Reaz said Beddows had been driving a Vauxhall Corsa on Fromes Hill in Herefordshire when he was stopped by police at 1.45am on June 29.

He was asked to take a roadside drug test after officers noted a smell of cannabis, and was arrested after it returned a positive result.

An evidential blood test in custody revealed Beddows had 2.9 microgrammes of cannabis metabolite delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The legal limit is two.

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Speaking on his own behalf, nineteen-year-old Beddows told the magistrates he wanted to apologise for committing the offence.

"I know the seriousness of it," full-time university student Beddows said.

"I put others in danger, both those in the car with me and those in other cars. I want to apologise to the court for wasting their time with such a silly thing that should not have taken place in the first place."

Beddows, of Sutton Road, Walsall, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £120. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.