A BRICKLAYER is off the road for three years after he was caught in the police’s Christmas campaign against drink and drug driving.

Officers stopped Jake Pullen on Boroughbridge Road, York, on December 27, Shaun Carroll, prosecuting, told the city’s magistrates.

His car smelt of cannabis and a roadside test was positive for cocaine.  A blood test revealed he had benzoylecgonine, a chemical produced when cocaine is absorbed in the body. 

Pullen, 27, of Forth Street, off Leeman Road, York, pleaded guilty to drug driving.  Because he had been convicted of drink driving in 2021, he was banned from driving for three years.

He was also ordered to pay a total of £730 consisting of a £461 fine, £85 prosecution costs and a £184 statutory surcharge.

Pullen represented himself and apologised for his offence.  He said he was not a frequent  drug user.

He had taken the cocaine two days before he was stopped.

“I didn’t believe it would still be in my system or I wouldn’t have driven,” he said. “I rely on driving in my job.”

He said not having a driving licence would limit the building sites he could work on.