Driving ban for man caught over cannabis limit

One of the first people prosecuted under new laws

One of the first people prosecuted under new laws has been banned from the roads for being over the legal cannabis limit.

Twenty-six-year-old Joe Guttridge, of Broadway in Douglas, appeared at Douglas Courthouse.

He pleaded guilty to driving while over the cannabis limit, on 21 January, just four days after the new Road Traffic Amendment Act introducing drug-driving limits came into force.

Police spotted Guttridge's red Vauxhall Corsa, on Kewaigue Hill in Douglas, at 1am.

They stopped the car, over a fault with its brake lights, and when they spoke to Guttridge they noticed he smelled of cannabis.

A search of the car found 1.1 grammes of the class B drug with a street value of £22 – he was given a police caution for possessing it.

After a roadside drug wipe showed cannabis blood tests showed he was five times over the legal limit.

Magistrates ordered him to do 120 hours community service and handed him an 18-month driving ban after which he’ll have to pass an extended test before he can have his licence back.