Telford man handed three year driving ban for use of cannabis at the wheel
A Telford man has been banned from driving for three years after admitting second offence of having cannabis in his blood.
Unemployed Elliot Sobol, aged 24, of Buttermere Drive, Priorslee, was stopped by police as part of a routine check while driving a VW Golf on Rampart Way in the town centre on October 31, 2022.
Prosecutor Sara Beddow told Telford Magistrates on Tuesday that Sobol had tested positive with a saliva test, which was confirmed by a blood test after he had been arrested.
Miss Beddow said Sobol had co-operated with police and a blood test confirmed a level of cannabis which was more than twice the legal limit of the drug.
She said that Sobol had a previous conviction for drug driving in 2019 which meant magistrates had to ban him from driving for at least three years.
Sobol, who was not represented by a solicitor, presented his own mitigation.
He said that he had used cannabis because he had been badly injured in a road crash and used the drug to cope with the stress. He said his previous conviction followed his use of the drug following the death of his best friend.
"I was in a pretty nasty car accident and started taking it again. I had been on my way back from having physio. I had been on crutches for six months. I did use it to cope on the odd occasion," he said.
He added: "Hopefully you will take some of those factors into consideration and I would be thankful for that," he said.
Dr Louise Bouic, who was chairing the bench of three magistrates, said they had to disqualify Sobol for three years because of the previous relevant offence.
They handed him a fine of £120 as well as ordering him to pay £135 for prosecution costs and a victims' surcharged of £48 that is set by the Government. They accepted his offer to pay it off at the rate of £100 per month.
