A DRUG-driver was caught behind the wheel without insurance or a licence after being talked into test-driving a car, a court has heard.

Matthew James Gullis admitted all three offences when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on October 14.

The 30-year-old had been driving a grey Audi A3 on the B4349 near Kingstone when he was spotted by police on May 16, prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said.

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Officers decided to stop him after checks showed he had no licence or insurance, and carried out a roadside drug test after noting a strong smell of cannabis coming from the car.

Gullis was arrested after the test showed he was positive for cannabis, and an evidential blood test revealed he had 8.4 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per litre of blood. The legal limit is two.

George Cousins, for Gullis, said he had not intended to drive that day.

"He was going back to Kingstone from Hereford with his partner and they stopped at his partner's mums house because a warning light came on," Mr Cousins said.

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"They left their children with her mother and he was talked into test driving the car.

"The car was insured for his other half to drive, but not for him, and his licence is expired. That is the reason he was in the car, and that is why he was driving."

Gullis, of Dulas Avenue, Hereford, was disqualified from driving for three years and fined £250. He must also pay costs of £100 and a £45 victim surcharge.