A MAN has been banned from getting behind the wheel after being three times the drug driving limit.

Scott Christopher Lewis, 23, appeared at Furness Magistrates' Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit on October 19.

Prosecutor Mrs Pam Ward said that police stopped Lewis in the early hours and they smelt a strong stench of cannabis in the car.

The court heard that Lewis, of Glasgow Street, Barrow, had 6.6 µg/L of the cannabis compound, known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol, in a sample of his blood, when the limit is 2µg/L.

Lewis represented himself at court and he presented a letter that he had written to the magistrates.

Presiding magistrate, Mr Bob Fletcher, said in some ways the letter made for disappointing reading and Lewis was not helping his ambitions.

Mr Fletcher said: "You were three times the legal limit.

"You caused a major threat to other road users as well as yourself."

Lewis was disqualified from driving for 12 months, fined £100, and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Last year the government launched a major drug driving awareness campaign as new laws were brought into force.

Meanwhile, Cumbria police have said people risk their lives and those of others by driving under the influence of drink or drugs and that it strives to catch offenders that endanger the lives of themselves and the wider public.

A spokesman for Cumbria police said: “We want to urge the public to continue to report anyone that they suspect is driving under the influence of drink or drugs to the police immediately and those calls will be treated as an emergency. 

"Our officers will continue to work hard all year round to keep Cumbria’s roads safe.”