An offender has been put on probation after he was caught twice in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs.

Magistrates also banned 27-year-old Richard Ewan Callow from driving for six months.

We previously reported that police were on patrol on December 30 when they came across Callow, parked in his Renault Clio at a layby at Keppel Gate, with a female passenger.

He was in the driver’s seat with the engine off but the keys in the ignition.

Callow, who lives at Bride Road, Ramsey, told police he had pulled over to calm his dogs down.

Officers reported a smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle and described Callow as having slurred speech and glazed eyes.

He was asked if he had any drugs and gave police a grinder with traces of green vegetable matter in it, as well a Tupperware box containing 3.2 grams cannabis, valued by police at £64.

A drug wipe test proved positive for drugs and he was subsequently arrested and taken to police headquarters.

A blood sample was taken, It later produced results of 21 for cocaine, which has a legal limit of 10, and 333 for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine, which has a legal limit of 50.

There was also a result of 2.3 for cannabis, which has a legal limit of two.

On January 14, at 10.15pm, police again came across Callow, this time sitting in the Clio in a layby at Ballakillowey Road in Colby.

There was a smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle and a drug wipe test proved positive for drugs.

Callow gave a blood sample at police headquarters, which later produced a reading of 57 for benzoylecgonine, above the legal limit of 50.

In court, Callow pleaded guilty to four counts of being in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs and one count of possessing cannabis.

Defence advocate Paul Rodgers said that there had been no obvious signs of impairment, though it was accepted that, on the first occasion Callow had been more than six times the limit for benzoylecgonine and twice the limit for cocaine.

Mr Rodgers said that his client was very lightly convicted, and at the time of the offences, had suffered a family bereavement and was in a toxic relationship.

The advocate said that Callow had been driving since the incidents and there had been no further offending.

Mr Rodgers asked magistrates not to disqualify Callow, saying that he was a digger driver, who would still be able to drive on sites, but was sometimes required to go to collect vehicles.

Magistrates sentenced Callow to a 12-month probation order for each offence, to run concurrently.

He was also ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs by June 30.