A drug driver is expected to lose his job after being caught behind the wheel while high on cocaine.

At Swindon Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Marc Morris, of Church Walk in North Swindon, pleaded guilty to committing two offences.

The 32-year-old admitted to having the Class B drug cannabis in his possession on February 10, 2024, and driving a Toyota RAV 4 along Cricklade Road on the same day while having 565 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine per litre of blood in his system.

Benzoylecgonine is a major metabolite of cocaine. Drivers can have trace amounts - 50 microgrammes per litre of blood - in their system, but any more than that is illegal. Morris had ingested 11 times the legal limit.

Tom Power, prosecuting, said police tested the motorist after receiving reports of a possible drunk driver. Morris had consumed alcohol but was below the legal limit.

Kevin Williams, defending, said: "He's got himself into a real scrape. The consequences to him and his family will be quite severe.

"He had been at a family gathering and a family member wanted to go home but was worse for wear, so - with an ill-judged sense of camaraderie - he offered to take him home.

"He drove for no more than five minutes. He had been using cocaine and was going through a bad patch - he had had to put his dog to sleep and had been involved in a crash with a double-decker bus that was not his fault.

"He was in pain and conventional medicine did not alleviate the pain to what he had hoped.

"He was using a little too much cocaine but has since then made every effort to reduce his consumption of cannabis and stopped using cocaine."

Morris has worked as a bricklayer for the same company for 10 years and has "a good reputation in Swindon", according to his duty solicitor.

His boss wrote a letter to speak of his employee's good character and explain that a driving ban could lead to him losing his job as he drives to work and often gives colleagues lifts to sites outside of Swindon.

Magistrates banned Morris from driving for 18 months, gave him a community order that required him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work in 12 months, fined the defendant £300, and ordered him to pay £85 in court costs plus £114 to fund victim services.