A Pembroke motorist has been banned from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle for 12 months after he was stopped by police and found to be driving with cannabis in his system.
Twenty-one-year-old Jake Oliver Phillips, of Devon Drive, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to plead guilty to a charge of driving a BMW 320 on Golden Hill Road, with 4.0 ug/L of the drug in his blood.
Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told magistrates that police made a routine stop on Mr. Phillip’s vehicle shortly after 1 am on August 5.
“Officers could smell cannabis emanating from the vehicle and conducted a drug swab test on the driver,” she said.
Defence solicitor Jonathan Webb said that there were no aggravating features and the cannabis had been consumed by the defendant the previous day.
“This shows how long cannabis stays in the system as it was consumed the best part of 13 to 15 hours before Mr. Phillips was pulled over.
“The defendant was working as a lifeguard but will have to give up his job as he was working about 20 miles away from where he lives,” he added.
Magistrates disqualified Mr. Phillips from driving for 12 months and fined him £120 for the offence.
He was also ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.