A MAN who was caught behind the wheel while under the influence of cannabis has been disqualified from driving for three years.

James Martin, 33, was handed the lengthy ban after admitting to the offence during a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates Court.

Martin, of Rayne Road, Braintree,

A man has been disqualified from driving for three years after being stopped by a Special Sergeant following a 999 call in #Ongar.

Jamie Martin, 33, of Rayne Road, #Braintree, was banned from driving for 36 months after admitting drug driving at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 17 September.

He was also fined £400 and was ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £40 victim surcharge.

We received an emergency call at around 9.50pm on Monday 6 May from a woman who reported that she could smell cannabis coming from a Range Rover in Ongar Roadwhich was also driving erratically.

We arrived at the scene and pulled Martin over in Hook End Road at around 10pm.

He tested positive for cannabis and his blood sample showed he was three times over the drug drive limit.

Special Sergeant Martin Beale, who is based with our Road Crime Team, said: “A woman’s call to our Control Room has resulted in a drug driver being removed from our roads.

“Martin admitted that he had just smoked cannabis before we stopped him and the readings showed he was at risk of causing himself or other road users at risk of harm.

“I’d like to thank the woman who called us for her vigilance and information. Her actions saw Martin receive a ban for a significant period of time.”

We are better equipped than ever to identify and detect drug drivers and we have more than 600 officers across the force who are trained to use drug wipes, and not just those working in our roads policing units.

Drugs can stay in your system for a significant amount of time and even if you don’t feel impaired, you could still be over the drug driving limit and so breaking the law.

The easiest way of avoiding this is to drive safe and drive sober.

If you have any information about a drink or drug driving please call us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Please call 999 in an emergency.