An Isle of Wight drug driver has been banned from the roads after he mistakenly thought cocaine would leave his system after three days.

Leo Roberts, of Merstone Lane, attended the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court earlier this month and pleaded guilty to drug driving.

Liz Miller, prosecuting, said the 40-year-old was stopped by police while driving his Nissan Qashqai on Blackwater Road at 3.25pm on December 7 last year.

Roberts informed officers that he had used cocaine four days earlier, and a roadside drug test came back positive, Ms Miller said.

A further blood test at the police station confirmed Roberts was almost four times over the BZE (derivative of cocaine) limit.

Lucy Linington, defending, told the court Roberts believed the cocaine would be out of his system three days after use.

She said her client had become the sole carer of his four children and has significant family complications, which led to him trying cocaine.

Ms Linington told magistrates the incident was a ‘genuine mistake’, with her client never using cocaine before and not knowing how long it would stay in his system.

Magistrates handed Roberts a 12-month driving disqualification and ordered him to pay a £120 fine, £85 in costs and a £48 surcharge.