A drug-driver caught at a Huddersfield petrol station was three times over the legal limit, a court heard.

Kirklees magistrates heard that on November 24 police were called to the BP Petrol Station on Leeds Road.

Andy Wills, prosecuting, explained that police were alerted to a vehicle in the Huddersfield area being linked to possible offences on Leeds.

Marcus Clarke was sat in the vehicle in the petrol station forecourt while his passenger paid for fuel.

The officers spoke with the 24-year-old, could immediately detect the distinct smell of cannabis and asked him to provide a saliva sample at the roadside.

This was positive and Clarke was arrested and taken to Huddersfield Police Station where a blood sample was taken.

Huddersfield Police Station

This had 6.6 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (cannabis) per litre of blood.

The legal limit is two microgrammes so this was more than three times the permitted amount.

Clarke, of Gathorne Terrace in Leeds, pleaded guilty to driving while over the specified drug limit.

Ian Whiteley, mitigating, said Clarke used cannabis on a recreational basis and had smoked the drug on the day of the incident.

He added: “There’s no element of bad driving or a police chase – he was simply sat in the petrol station.”

Magistrates fined Clarke £120 and ordered him to pay £40 costs plus £30 victim surcharge.

He was banned from driving for 12 months.