Man caught driving five times over legal cannabis limit

A man's been handed an 18-month driving ban after he was caught driving five times over the legal cannabis limit.

Joe Guttridge of Broadway in Douglas appeared before magistrates at Douglas Courthouse.

The 26 year old admitted a single charge of driving while over the cannabis limit on January 21, becoming one of the first people on the Island to be convicted of the new offence.

Prosecutor Roger Kane told the hearing police stopped his red Vauxhall Corsa on Kewaigue Hill at 1am after spotting a fault with its brake lights.

Guttridge, a mechanic, smelled of cannabis and a roadside drugs test gave a positive result - he later turned out to be five times over the legal limit.

The court heard he was given a caution for possessing 1.1 grammes of the drug worth £22.

After hearing Guttridge had given up cannabis after smoking it daily for more than 10 years, magistrates banned him from the roads and ordered him to do 120 hours of community service.