A DRIVER who was four times over the legal drug limit has been fined £300 and banned from driving for 12 months.

James Willans was seen by police driving erratically in Billingham in his Renault Megane on November 2 last year.

Officers described how his pupils were dilated and he later tested positive for cannabis.

Willans, of Cotswold Crescent, Billingham, only had a provisional licence to drive and was not properly insured.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the unemployed 25-year-old suffers from epileptic fits and undertook errands in his car for family.

He was said to have been foolish and regretted his actions.

By being in court Willans breached a suspended 12 month jail sentence he was given in July last year for an affray in which he threw ammonia and also brandished a baseball bat.

The defendant pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to drug driving and having no insurance or a valid driving licence.

Judge Peter Armstrong declined to activate the suspended sentence, claiming it would be unjust to do so since the driving offence in itself was not punishable by jail and there were no other aggravating factors.