Mansfield drug driver caught when off-duty cop smelled cannabis coming from his car

Harry Brackenbury's red Toyota was pulled over on Griffon Drive, Hucknall, at 11.50am on August 29, said Donna Fawcett, prosecuting.

Three bags of cannabis were found in his car and he was over the specified limit for cannabis and the metabolic derivative of cocaine.

He had been due to appear at court on Wednesday and claimed his mother had failed to give him the relevant paperwork.

Arjun Madahar, mitigating, said Brackenbury, of previous good character, had been self-medicating with drugs to assist with his mental health.

He has been addicted to cannabis since he was 18 and had taken cocaine the night before.

"This is going to be a significant conviction as he is a self-employed landscaper and needs a licence," he said.

"Not only is he likely to lose his business, it will impact on his business partner who doesn't drive.

"His girlfriend relies upon him to get to work. Of course he will have to accept all the consequences that flow from today."

Brackenbury, aged 27, of Poplar Grove, Forest Town, Mansfield, admitted possession of a class B drug and two counts of drug driving when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He was fined £200, and ordered to pay an £80 surcharge and £85 costs, making a total of £364.

He was disqualified for 12 months. The drugs were forfeited and destroyed.