A SELF-employed plasterer said he will not be able to provide for his family after being caught driving with cannabis in his system.

Colin Scotford of Wyelands, Holme Lacy pleaded guilty to having 2.4mg of delta-9-THC (a compound of cannabis) in his system- the legal limit is 2mg.

The 29-year-old told Hereford Magistrates Court he employed two people, neither of which could drive, and he would have to let them go as being caught drug driving means an automatic driving ban.

He said due to the disqualification it would mean he could not carry on working Scotford said he smoked cannabis the night before he was caught to ease the pain of a medical condition.

He said he provided for his wife and four children and said: "I can't put a roof over their heads. I accept what I did was wrong... but I am not the only one who is going to suffer. My family is going to suffer too. I just don't know where I can go from here."

Lesley Ashton, prosecuting, said Scotford was stopped by police in Westfaling Street in Hereford on March 26 just before 11.40am. Officers said his eyes were glazed and his pupils were dilated.

Rob Macrory, mitigating, said his client would rather go to prison or do unpaid work than have a driving ban. He said Scotford faces a very uncertain future as he lives out in a rural area and has has very little prospects at being able to earn a living.

There are no sentencing guidelines with drug driving but there is an automatic driving ban. At the moment defendants are unable to take a course to reduce the disqualification, as drink drivers are able to.

Magistrates told Scotford they had no option but to disqualify him from driving for 12 months. He was ordered to pay £50 court costs and a victim surcharge of £20.