A Whitland man has been disqualified from driving for 20 months after admitting getting behind the wheel of his car with drugs in his system.

Thirty-five-year-old Thomas Charles Salmon, of Llanfallteg, pleaded guilty to driving his Ford Focus with a proportion of Benzoylecgonine, the major metabolite of cocaine, in his blood, when he appeared at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that Mr. Salmon was arrested by police after he was tested with 724 microgrammes per litre of the drug in his blood, exceeding the specified limit of 50 ug/L, after an incident where he had crashed his car into the rear of another vehicle.

“The incident occurred shortly after 8 am on September 3, when a lady who was a midwife driving on an unclassified road between Llanddewi Velfrey and Llanfallteg, slowed down for a lorry coming the other way, and the defendant went into the back of her.

“Mr. Salmon did stop and spoke to the driver to see if she was ok, but he then went home as he lived nearby, before the police arrived,” continued Mr. Pritchard-Jones.

Police officers attended the defendant’s address and his car engine was still warm. An alcohol breath test proved low, but a saliva test showed traces of drugs and he stated to police that he had taken cocaine the night before.

“After his arrest, a further test showed that Mr. Salmon had 724 microgrammes per litre of the drug in his blood, which is nearly 15 times over the limit,” continued Mr. Pritchard-Jones.

“He has one previous relevant matter on record, when he was sent to prison for 32 months last year, for conspiracy to supply cocaine,” he added.

Defence solicitor Katy Hanson told magistrates that Mr. Salmon was immediately very remorseful for what happened.

“He accepts that he was over the limit and that his driving was impaired.

“Mr. Salmon has spent some time trying to rebuild his life since coming out of jail, and started his own business as a gardener and handyman, so a driving disqualification will impact on him,” she said.

Magistrates told Mr. Salmon that they were close to asking for probation reports due to his history with drugs offences, before disqualifying him from driving for 20 months and fining him £240 for the offence.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.