A CHEF was caught drug driving twice within days of one another, a court heard.

James Feldman was first stopped by road traffic officers while driving his Mini One on Lund Road in Ulverston on March 11, South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard.

Prosecutor Lee Dacre said the 25-year-old complied with police when asked to complete a roadside DrugWipe test.

Feldman was subsequently arrested and charged with drug driving after providing a positive sample for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol – the psychoactive constituent of cannabis.

Analysis of the sample showed he had been driving with 7.0 ug/l in his blood, the court heard.

The legal ‘zero-tolerance limit’ is 2.0 ug/l.   

Mr Dacre said the defendant was caught behind the wheel drug driving once again just 16 days later.

He said: “You would have thought that he would have learnt his lesson.

 “However, around midnight on March 27, he was stopped near Rusland Pool whilst driving the same vehicle on the A590.”

The court heard Feldman made frank admissions to officers that he had been smoking cannabis. As a result, he provided another positive roadside drug test.

Inquiries revealed Feldman had been driving with another 7.0 ug/l of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in his blood.

Representing Feldman in defence, Michael Graham said his client was a man of previous good character and that he had made two errors within a short period of time.

Mr Graham added: “He has not put a lot of thought into the situation in ensuring he did not repeat his behaviour.

“He was fully co-operative with police on both occasions and is the author of his own misfortune. It was a foolish decision on his behalf and it will not be repeated.

“Since the second incident, he has not driven and he has cut down on his cannabis use. He works as a chef locally and is accommodated in the area.”

Magistrates uplifted the sentence from a fine to a community order due to the ‘serious aggravating factor’ of the second drug driving offence.

As a result, he was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months.

Feldman, of High Grove Road, Cheadle, Stockport, was also disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £114 surcharge.