Police have made an example of an Essex driver caught behind the wheel with cocaine and cannabis in his system.

James Digby, 29, has been fined, banned from the roads for two years and given a suspended prison term after pleading guilty to drug driving.

Digby, of Brassie Wood, Chelmsford, was arrested on August 7, 2017 after a special constable from Essex Police spotted him overtaking other vehicles in a dangerous manner in Beehive Lane, Chelmsford.

Police stopped his Ford Fiesta in Loftin Way just before 11pm.

Digby tested positive for cocaine and cannabis and was arrested and later charged with driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

He was sentenced to nine weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months; disqualified from driving for 24 months and ordered to pay £200 costs and a £115 victim surcharge.

Special Constable Stephen Nelson said: “Drug driving risks and ruin lives. I hope this sentencing sends out a strong message that Essex Police and the courts take this kind of offending extremely seriously. Drink or drug drive and it’s only a matter of time before you are caught and put before the courts.”