A man has been banned from the roads and fined after driving with cannabis in his system in Porton Down. 

Andrew James Grant, 45, was sentenced by Salisbury Magistrates Court on Thursday (April 21).

Prosecuting, Ryan Seneviratne told the court that on the morning of the offence on March 17, 2021, security staff at Porton Down became aware of a black Mercedes and a strong smell of canabis on Blackbarn Road.

They alerted the police, who conducted a search in a nearby car park and found a number of drugs.

According to Mr Seneviratne, a test showed that the defendant was positive for cannabis and he was arrested for driving over the limit.

He was taken to a police station and produced a blood specimen. He told them that he had eaten cannabis and asked if there was any mileage to what he had just said.

The court heard that his reading of THC (marijuana) was 2.9ug micrograms of drug per litre of blood, when two is the legal limit.

Grant, of Graham Street, Carlisle, initially pleaded not guilty on October 8 last year, but since changed his plea.

Currently in custody, Grant did not appear before the court.

He is currently disqualified from driving for a period of five years.

Representing the defendant, Jeff Smith, who appeared by live link, said Grant would be in custody until March next year, and that he has "positioned himself to be his own worst enemy".

He was fined a total of £524 on release from prison, and as of the same day disqualified from driving for three years, to run alongside his current five years.

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