Kirkby cannabis man caught through no insurance

Dean Ward’s Vauxhall Vectra was pulled over on Searwood Avenue, just before midday on November 24, because officers noticed he had no insurance.

When he got into the police car he tried to discard a small bag containing cannabis resin, but he was spotted.

Prosecutor Neil Hollett said Ward told police he was not a regular user and had last smoked the drug when he was a youth. He said he found the bag outside a shop.

A test revealed he had 4.6 microgrammes of the drug in one litre of blood when the legal limit is two microgrammes.

Rebecca Williams, mitigating, said: “He smoked it the night before and thought he would be OK to drive. He was driving a relatively short distance to see a friend.”

She said he had been short of money before Christmas and had been unable to afford the insurance costs.

Ward, 30, of Sutton Road, Kirkby, admitted drug driving, possession of the Class B drug and driving without insurance, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Friday.

He was banned for 36 months because he has a previous conviction for the same offence. For driving with no insurance he was given eight points, which is added to the eight points he already has, and the six month ban will run concurrently.

He was fined £300, and was ordered to pay a government surcharge of £30 and £85 costs.