A DRUG-DRIVER had been smoking cannabis in the Netherlands five days before he was stopped by police, a court heard.

David Joubert, 50, was driving a Vauxhall vehicle on the A66 at Stainburn in Workington on the morning of February 26.

Peter Kelly, prosecuting at Workington Magistrates’ Court, said the defendant was stopped by police and showed signs of intoxication.

He was asked to provide a roadside drugs test and gave a positive indication for cannabis. He was arrested and taken to the police station.

Joubert was asked to provide a sample of blood which showed he had 10mcg of Delta- 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The specified limit is 2mcg.

The court heard the defendant had not been in trouble since 2012.

Joubert, of Went Meadows, Greysouthen, Cockermouth, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

John Cooper, defending, said: “The car had run out of MOT. He had taken it that morning to get the MOT.

“They [police] thought they could smell cannabis on him. There’s nothing about the manner of driving.

“Five days before he had been to Holland and smoked cannabis there. That’s where he had been.

“He has four children and is the main carer for his mother.”

Joubert was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £120. He was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge.