A DRUG driver who claims he only used cannabis for pain relief has been fined.

Brett Page, of Poplar Drive, Spennymoor, was stopped by officers on the A167 in Newton Aycliffe at about noon on December 11.

A roadside drug test revealed he had 5ugl of the controlled drug Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in his system when the legal limit is 2ugl.

Callum Terry, mitigating, said the 42-year-old had smoked a joint of cannabis the night before the incident because he has a degenerative condition and found it helped relieve sever pain in his hips.

He said the manufacturing supervisor had since been prescribed Tramadol for the pain but does not enjoy taking it.

Newton Aycliffe Magistrate Sian Allan-Gilbert fined Page £333 and ordered him to pay £85 in costs and a £33 victim surcharge when he appeared at court today.

She also disqualified him from driving for 12 months.