A MAN who was spotted ignoring a road closed sign has been banned from the roads after being found to have driven with twice the specified limit of cocaine in his blood.

Joseph Morrison, of Burton Leonard, near Ripon, was arrested in the early hours of October 9 after a North Yorkshire Police traffic officer saw him drive at speed on Harrogate Road towards Ripon city centre.

The 23-year-old then drove around a road closed sign and continued onto High Skellgate before being stopped and providing a positive drug saliva specimen at the roadside.

Tests confirmed he was also more than nine times over the specified limit for benzoylcgonine, which is formed in the liver by the metabolism of cocaine.

Morrison pleaded guilty at Harrogate Magistrates Court to driving a motor vehicle on a road while in excess of a prescribed drug limit and was handed an 18-month driving ban, a £500 fine and told to pay£135 costs.

Traffic Constable David Minto said: “Morrison’s driving prior to his arrest clearly fell below the standards of a safe and competent driver.

“I am hugely satisfied that we have taken another motorist off the roads who clearly has scant regard for others."