Telford man spotted 'smoking cannabis' behind the wheel is banned
A 62-year-old man from Telford has been banned from driving after he was spotted "smoking cannabis" behind the wheel of his Mini.
Robert Hinks of Burtondale, Brookside was seen smoking the joint by an off-duty police officer at around 1.40pm on April 8 this year, in the car park of the Bridge Retail Park.
Telford Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday how after reporting the incident to police, uniformed officers approached Hinks' mini in the car park.
Prosecutor Hannah Baddley said: "Officers went to speak to the defendant and smelled cannabis. They arrested him and a blood sample came back positive."
She said Hinks was found to have seven microgrammes of the active cannabis ingredient Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his blood, above the specified limit of two microgrammes.
In defending Hinks, Ryan Khaira, said his client denied smoking cannabis behind the wheel, and that the offer duty officer had seen just "a fag".
But he added: "On Friday night he did smoke quite a bit of cannabis with a friend and on the following day, he accepts it was in his system. But there was no evidence of impairment and as to the claims he was smoking cannabis, he says it was just a fag."
However, he said Hinks had admitted the vehicle would have smelled of the Class B drug, as his friend had been smoking in there.
Hinks was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £695 in costs, fines and a victim surcharge.
