A BRAMPTON motorist who was over the limit for a cocaine breakdown product could not explain how the drug got into his system, magistrates heard.

At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, 55-year-old Kevin Jackson, of Irthing Park, Brampton, pleaded guilty to driving a Fiat car on Main Street in Brampton on October 9 last year while over the limit for benzoylecgonine.

The legal driving limit for the drug is 50mcg per litre of blood.

At the time he was tested by the police, the defendant had 89mcg per litre of blood in his system. He was stopped by the police outside the Co-op in Brampton at around 5.30pm, the court heard.

Prosecutor Peter Kelly said there had been concerns about the defendant’s driving.

But John Smith, defending, told the court: “He can’t explain how this [substance] has got into his system.

"He hasn’t taken cocaine, but it has shown up in the laboratory analysis. The limit is deliberately set artificially low.

“There is no suggestion of any impairment to his driving and he is not that high above the prescribed limit. There was no evidence of bad driving.

"The police were contacted by a member of the public to say they were concerned.

“But they didn’t see any evidence of bad driving.” Jackson had driven only a short distance, said Mr Smith.

Magistrates imposed a £120 fine, with a £48 surcharge and £85 costs. They imposed a 12-month driving ban.