A drug-driver may have been caught twice as a result of the same cannabis remaining in his system, a court has heard.

Nathan Ball, of Jury Lane, Haverfordwest, pleaded guilty to two charges of driving while over the controlled drug limit when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday, September 3.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said police could smell cannabis when they stopped Ball’s Fiat Panda on the A40 at Wolfscastle on April 24.

A blood sample revealed he had 9.8ug/l of a cannabis derivative in his system.

Ball, 21, was stopped driving the same car on Dredgeman Hill, Haverfordwest, on May 6, and found to have 3.9ug/l of the substance in his system.

Mike Kelleher, defending, said Ball was unaware that cannabis could stay in a person’s system for up to a month.

“It is quite possible the cannabis in his system the second time was the same cannabis as the week before. There’s no effect from it, but it remains in the system.

“It’s not as if his driving was impaired in any way, there were no passengers, no bad driving. He had absolutely no idea that cannabis remained in his system for as long as it did.”

Magistrates banned Ball from driving for three years and fined him £120. He was ordered to pay £170 costs and a £30 surcharge.