A MOTORIST from Barrow has been disqualified after he was caught driving while three-and-a-half times over a legal drug limit.

Kristen Downing, of Near Field Walk, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to drug driving with a proportion of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol over the specified limit.

The charge indicates the 36-year-old had 7.0 micrograms of the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis in his blood when he was stopped driving his Ford Focus on Cavendish Street earlier this year on May 17.

The legal limit set by Government is 2.0 micrograms – although this is a ‘zero-tolerance’ limit.

At South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court on November 18, Downing was disqualified from driving for a period of 12 months and fined £120.

He was also ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £48.