A DRIVER who had a high proportion of cocaine in his system while driving away from Herefordshire's Nozstock festival has been banned from the roads.

Marinos Panagi, of Hewelsfield in the Forest of Dean, pleaded guilty to drug-driving after he was caught on the A465 when leaving the Nozstock festival on July 24 last year.

Hereford Magistrates Court heard that the 36-year-old was driving a Ford Fiesta when he had a massive 460 micrograms (mg) of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50mg.

The court heard that police had been randomly choosing vehicles to spot-check for drugs leaving the festival.

Nozstock is a popular music and performing arts festival that takes place annually near Bromyard.

This is not the first time that Panagi has been convicted of a drug-related offence. He has previously been convicted of possession of class A and B drugs, and had received a conditional discharge. This meant that his drug-driving offence had also broken the terms of the discharge.

Panagi, who was represented by Matt Lewis and pleaded guilty to the charge, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined a total of £200, along with a £48 victim surcharge and court costs of £135.