A DRUGS driver was stopped at Skipton because police knew him to be a cannabis user, heard magistrates.

Jonathan Drinnan, 28, admitted to police smoking cannabis the night before when stopped in his Renault Clio on the A629 on July 7, heard the Skipton court.

A preliminary test proved positive and he was taken to the police station and a blood sample taken which later revealed he had 3.4 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol - the active component of cannabis - in one litre of blood, the legal limit is two.

Drinnan, of Sutcliffe Buildings, School Hill, Settle, admitted drugs driving.

He was a regular user of cannabis and at the time had been driving to a clinic for minor surgery, there was no indication of impaired driving, and he was a man of previous good character, the court was told.

He was banned from driving for a year, and fined £120 with costs of £85 and surcharge of £30.