A banned driver who smoked cannabis to deal with stress the day before being caught driving in Newtown said it was a "stupid thing".

Yordan Apostolov told police officers that he "had no idea" that he had been banned from driving for around six or seven months at the time due to totting.

Welshpool Magistrates' Court was told that the 24-year-old was stopped in his Volkswagen Passat by police on the Newtown Bypass on August 16 this year .

The Bulgarian national who works as a car wash attendant was given a three year driving ban and ordered to complete a 12-month community order to address his drug use and lack of consequential thinking after pleading guilty to three driving offences.

Officers noticed smell of cannabis and carried out a drugs wipe which was positive. A blood sample taken from Apostolov found he was over the legal limit for cannabis at 3.1 microgrammes.

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Helen Tench, prosecuting, said: "The defendant said he had no idea he was banned for six or seven months, has a full Bulgarian licence and never been in trouble in this country."

Apostolov's solicitor told the court that had the 24-year-old is "not stupid enough" to drive whilst disqualified.

"It was not significantly over the drug level. He smoked cannabis the night before and thought he would be clear, a common mistake people make.

"He is not a person who has wilfully disobeyed the court order knowing full well he was disqualified."

Probation officer Julian Davies told the court that Apostolov told him that he uses cannabis one or twice a week to relieve stress and to help with sleep.

"Looking back he said it was a stupid thing to have done and regrets doing it," Mr Davies said. "He says he wasn’t aware he was a totter at the time."

Stephen Pembroke, chair of the magistrates' bench, told Apostolov: "We have looked at this and we feel that you may well benefit from probation. I’m asking you to look at what’s happened over the last few months and years and address your cannabis use. In this country it’s illegal."

Magistrates ordered Apostolov, of Wellington, Telford, to complete 40 hours of unpaid work, and pay £199 to the court.