Ban for man caught five times over drug-drive limit

Daniel Miles Winstanley was caught with cannabis in his system when he was stopped in Leigh on suspicion of speeding.

Appearing in the dock at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court, the 24-year-old of Morris Street, Scholes, pleaded guilty to drug-driving and also driving without a valid licence.

The court heard how Winstanley had been driving along Holden Road, Leigh, at around 1pm on Friday December 8.

A police constable had been observing traffic travelling along the road, when his attention was drawn to a Hyundai Getz which, in his opinion, was driving in excess of the 30mph speed limit.

The officer followed the vehicle for a short while, and carried out a vehicle check which revealed that the car was uninsured, the hearing was told.

After signalling for the vehicle to pull over, the officer found Winstanley to be at the wheel with three passengers.

After noting that the car smelled strongly of cannabis, the officer began to question the driver, who revealed that he had only just purchased the car for £100 a short while earlier, and that he did not have a driving licence or insurance.

The court was told that a drug test carried out later revealed that Winstanley had 10ugl of Delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (the primary psychoactive substance found in cannabis) in his blood. The legal limit is currently two ugl per 100ml of blood.

Defending, Martin Jones told magistrates that his client had been "stupid". He added: "The vehicle has been seized by police and will not be returned to him. He took a risk, it was a stupid and foolish thing to do. He accepts that."

Mr Jones added: "He didn’t think for one minute that he was breaking the law."

Winstanley was banned from driving for 12 months.

He was also handed a fine of £120, a victim surcharge of £30 and costs of £85, making a total of £235.