A BARROW scooter driver has lost his license after he was caught behind the wheel of his moped whilst under the influence of anxiolytic drug.

Timothy Leary, of Low White Close, Barrow, was stopped by road traffic officers whilst driving his SYM Joymax moped on Crellin Street on May 1 this year.

The 49-year-old was asked to conduct a DrugWipe test for analysis by Cumbria Police as they had reason to believe the man had been driving illegally.

Leary co-operated with the roadside procedure and provided a positive sample of diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium.

As a result, he was arrested for driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit and taken into custody.

The defendant provided another sample which was sent for analysis.

Court records showed the lowest reading was 778 ug/L in blood, which exceeded the legal specified limit of 550 ug/L.

Leary was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £120 at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court on October 23.

He was also ordered to pay court costs of £85.