A DRUG-DRIVER was caught after taking cocaine and cannabis in an early-hours stop in Hereford.

Richard David West entered a guilty plea when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on February 10.

Prosecutor Robert Skinner said police had been on patrol in Belmont Road at around 3.40am on September 27 when they spotted West behind the wheel.

The 33-year-old was pulled over, and officers asked him to take a roadside drug test, which returned a positive result, after noting that his pupils were dilated and that he smelled of cannabis.

An evidential test in custody revealed West had 16 microgrammes of cocaine, 412 microgrammes of cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine, and 5.6 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The respective legal limits are 10, 50, and two.

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Chris Read, for West, said he had been helping a friend with decorating work into the early hours of the morning.

"He was on his way home," Mr Read said.

"Police stopped him because a numberplate light was not working. There was no criticism of his driving.

"He accepts his use of cannabis and cocaine, but says it is not a regular thing for him. He had used them quite some time before, and he was then asked by his friend to help with some urgent decorating work."

The court heard West had lost his job during the pandemic and a mandatory driving ban would make it difficult for him to find work.

West, of Web Tree Avenue, Hereford, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £180. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.