An ex-army man is getting his life back in order after being caught drug driving for a second time. 

Kai Weir, 20, was stopped by police while driving a Ford Fiesta in Workington on December 26 because the lights weren't on.

Carl Gaffney, prosecuting, told Workington Magistrates' Court that police suspected he may be under the influence of something, which turned out to be cocaine. 

Weir, of Cockfield Drive, Workington, had 96mcg of cocaine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 10mcg.

The court heard that Weir had been convicted of drug driving on November 19 last year. 

READ MORE: Workington drug-driver told court he had been discharged from the army

Mike Woolaghan, defending, said: "When we look at both of the offences he had not long come out of the army. This is at the tail end of a downward spiral."

He said the defendant had lost his employment and was struggling to integrate with civilian life.

"Since then he has taken active steps to get his life back in order. He has sought help from Recovery First Steps. He has been able to secure new employment working in a local laundry. He is moving on in a positive way."

The court was told Weir had volunteered to return to Poland and then Ukraine to offer humanitarian support since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Mr Woolaghan said: "That is a much more accurate reflection of his character."

Weir, of Cockfield Drive, Workington, pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

A separate charge of driving a vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit, which related to Benzoylecgonine - a metabolite of cocaine - was withdrawn.

Weir was banned from driving for two years and fined £300. 

The defendant must pay £85 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.