A grief-stricken motorist caught driving while under the influence of cannabis has been banned from the road for a year.

Magistrates sitting at Carlisle's Rickergate court heard how police arrested 66-year-old Johann Moller after they became concerned about the manner of his driving in Penrith on June 20l6.

"The officers noticed strong smell of cannabis," said prosecutor Pam Ward.

"Mr Moller confirmed that he had smoked a cannabis joint with his lunch."

A blood test later revealed that Moller had consumed more than four times the legal cannabis limit for driving. There was also a small amount of the drug in his Puegeot car.

Chris Toms, for Moller, described how over the last 18 months the defendant, who wept as he sat in the dock, had been faced with the loss of his brother, his mother-in-law, and his wife.

"He'd nursed his wife through her illness," said the lawyer.

"It's a combination of events that has left him completely shattered.

"He's been using cannabis to cope and to keep himself together following the death of his wife, who died only a short time before this incident."

Mr Toms sid that there was nothing exceptional in the manner of the defendant's driving that day. Police had checked him out after his sat-nav device sent him through Penrith the wrong way. There was nothing eratic about his driving, he said.

The lawyer added: "This is going to be a massive, massive, financial blow, as he is unlikely to earn the amount of money he has been earning, and his wife also had a significant income.

"If he has to claim benefits it won't cover his mortgage."

Magistrates banned Moller, from Plantation Gardens, Leeds, for a year.

He was also fined £414, with a £41 victim surcharge, and £85 costs.