A DRIVER who was caught behind the wheel after smoking three joints has been slapped with a 15-month driving ban.

Joshua Ryan Ling was travelling on Passfield Avenue, Eastleigh, when he was pulled over by police for speeding.

Prosecuting, Rachel Standish said officers noticed Ling smelt of cannabis and seemed impaired in some way so did a roadside breath test for alcohol.

When that came back clear they asked the 28-year-old to do some basic tests, like standing on one leg, and when he either could not do it or refused they sent him for a blood test.

The results found he had 6.7 micrograms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol - also known as cannabis, in his blood. The legal limit is two.

Southampton Magistrates' Court heard Ling, of Addison Road, Eastleigh, had ongoing issues with drugs and had started using cocaine when he was just 19 years old. At one point he had an £100-a-day habit which resulted in the inside of his nose colapsing.

As well as this he has also smoked cannabis since he was a teenager - on average he now smokes three or four joints a night, when he gets home from work - which is what admitted to doing on January 17.

Magistrates were told Ling, who represented himself, had gone to do a food shop with his partner of eight years and was driving back when they were pulled over.

The court heard how since the incident the father-of-one had cut back and had started working at a carpenter company which had given him motivation to sort his life out and have something to work towards.

Chairing the bench, Anne Fielder said: "It is good you feel motivated.... This was a matter where there was an unacceptable standard of driving."

Mrs Fielder disqualified Ling from driving and ordered him to complete a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work. She also told him to pay a £85 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.