A SOUTH Powys man has been banned from the road for a year after being caught driving while under the influence of cocaine.

Jeremy David Bull, 31, was more than double the legal limit for drugs when he was pulled over driving a Peugeot Partner on the A4067 on Brecon Road in Ystradgynlais on January 19 this year. A roadside drug swipe was positive, resulting in his arrest. A later reading at the police station revealed there to be 24 micrograms of the Class A drug in his system – the legal limit for driving with cocaine in your system is 10 micrograms.

Bull, of Heol Gleien, Lower Cwmtwrch, pleaded guilty to two charges of drug driving when he appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court on July 25. The second charge related to Bull providing a reading of 800 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine during the same incident – Benzoylecgonine is a compound of cocaine, with the legal limit being 50 micrograms.

In addition to a year road ban, Bull was fined £400 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £40 victim surcharge. There was no separate penalty for the second drug driving charge.