Brakes put on Bilsthorpe drug driver’s dream of HGV career

Bradley Hodgeson's BMW was stopped on Frederick Street, Mansfield, at 11.30am, on November 23, last year, after officers smelled the class B drug.

Prosecutor Rebecca Williams said a test revealed he had 3.5 mcgs of cannabis in one litre of blood, when the specified limit is 2 mcgs.

Lesley Pidcock, mitigating, said the conviction would have ‘a huge impact’ on Hodgeson, who has no previous convictions, because of where he lives and his plans to become an HGV driver.

The 19-year-old ‘struggled during the pandemic’ but stopped smoking cannabis since realising the impact it has had on his life.

Hodgeson, of Belle Eau Park, admitted driving with a controlled drug, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

He was disqualified for 12 months, fined £133 and ordered to pay a £34 surcharge and £85 costs.