A drug driver from Ipswich has been banned from driving after being caught on the way to Stansted Airport.

An officer from Essex Police was overtaken by a car driven by Harry Timms-Mitchell on the A120 on November 23, 2022.

The vehicle was pulled over by the officer who reportedly noticed an "extremely strong" smell of cannabis.

Timms-Mitchell then tested positive for cannabis at the roadside and was arrested.

A blood sample taken in custody was later found to contain 4.9 microgrammes of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per litre of blood.

The legal limit is two microgrammes.

On May 30, Timms-Mitchell, of Mill Road Drive, Purdis Farm, Ipswich, admitted driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

He was disqualified from driving for 12 months, fined £500 and ordered to pay £105 costs and a £200 victim surcharge.

Sergeant Paul Brady, of Essex Police Rural Engagement Team, said: “Drugs can stay in your system for quite some time after you have taken them.

“And driving with any amount of drugs in your system can be very dangerous, for you, your passengers and other road-users.

“You are at greater risk of causing a collision because drugs can delay your reactions, affecting your ability to judge speed and distance and so you may not brake in time if you need to.

“And they create a false confidence so, even if you think you are safe to drive, you are not.

“If convicted of drug-driving you may lose your licence and that could cost you your job.”