An early morning trip to buy cigarette papers cost a Haverfordwest man £466.

David John Badham, of Furzy Park, pleaded guilty to driving while over the controlled drug limit when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Monday, August 10.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said police could smell cannabis when officers stopped Badham’s Mazda 5 on the A4076 at Johnston at 1.10am on February 5.

He added: “This was a routine stop and there was no allegation of bad driving.”

Jonathan Webb, defending, said Badham, 38, had pleaded guilty to the offence at the first opportunity and was fully compliant when approached by the officers.

He added that Badham, who was previously of clean character, had voluntarily approached the DVLA about the offence, and had already been without his licence for four months.

Mr Webb told the court Badham used cannabis to help him sleep during occasional times of stress.

He had smoked cannabis before falling asleep on the night in question, and decided to have another cigarette when he woke up at about 1am to help him return to sleep.

“But he did not have any papers and decided to drive to Johnston to buy some.”

Mr Webb said: “A lesson has been learned here, which means this is unlikely to be repeated."

Magistrates banned Badham from driving for 12 months and fined him £346.

He was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £35 surcharge.