A TEENAGE mechanic has been banned from the roads after he was caught drug-driving in Hereford.

Robert Butcher admitted drug-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police had stopped Butcher, who was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Lupo, on Hereford's Greyfriars Bridge on January 3, prosecutor Mark Hambling said.

Butcher, who was carrying one passenger, was asked to take a roadside drug test and arrested after it returned a positive result for cannabis. An evidential blood test taken in custody revealed he had 4.6 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The legal limit is two.

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Adrian Roberts, for Butcher, said the 19-year-old had only passed his test last year and had used cannabis to self-medicate for depression and anxiety.

"He had smoked cannabis earlier in the morning and thought he would be fit to drive," Mr Roberts said.

"He knows that he took a chance and now faces the consequences."

Mr Roberts said police had become aware of the teenager, who works as a mechanic at Kwik Fit, after he had made a manoeuvre he should not have made.

"His job involves driving and his employers are not happy with the offence and he will learn later this afternoon whether he will still have a job," he said.

The court heard Butcher has been to his GP since his arrest to seek help for his mental health.

Butcher, of Scotland Place, Tenbury Wells, was fined £300 and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.

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