SMOKING cannabis has cost a car enthusiast his career, a court has heard.

Glen Lee Lyall admitted drug-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on October 14.

Prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said police had been on patrol in Hereford when they came across a Volkswagen Golf being driven by Lyall in Old School Lane on May 5.

They pulled Lyall over and asked him to take a roadside drug test, which returned a positive result for cannabis.

Lyall was arrested and an evidential test revealed he had 2.5 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The legal limit is two.

Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Lyall, said his car was the 27-year-old’s hobby, his job, and his life, and that the mandatory driving ban would cost him his job.

“He tells me he had smoked at about 10pm the night before,” Miss Di Vitantonio said.

“This was during lockdown, he was not working or sleeping, and he had become depressed. He thought it would help him, but after being stopped that evening, he has not touched cannabis.

“He regrets it and is deeply, deeply annoyed about it. He is annoyed that this one joint has cost him his career, but he accepts the consequences of his actions.”

Lyall, of Hawkins Court, Hereford, was disqualified from driving for three years and fined £120. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.