Drug-driving learner was giving girlfriend a lift to hospital when he was caught

A learner driver has been disqualified after giving his girlfriend a lift to hospital while under the influence of cannabis.Marley Mclean, 29, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with four offences.He pleaded guilty to drug-driving and possession of a Class B substance, as well as driving without insurance and without a licence.

He committed the offences on May 3 last year, with police pulling him over on Gayton Road – closed to Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital – after they noticed him behind the wheel when only a woman was insured to drive the Seat Ibiza.Mclean was a provisional driver at the time, but no learner plates were displayed on the vehicle at the time.Officers could also smell cannabis, and Mclean admitted to both having smoked some recently and having a quantity of 2.02g within the vehicle.His roadside drugs test returned a positive result of 3.6mcg of cannabis per litre of blood, exceeding the legal driving limit of 2mcg, and he was arrested.Mitigating, solicitor Tiffany Meredith said Mclean had been in the car with his girlfriend at the time of his offences.She was travelling to visit a family member at the QEH, and during that trip Mclean deemed it unsafe for her to drive because of her mental state. They therefore pulled over and swapped seats.“He didn’t really turn his attention to the fact that he didn’t have his learner plates on,” Ms Meredith said.“He was a learner and she was able to supervise him. She was insured on the vehicle, but not him – but perhaps you might consider the exceptional circumstances.”She added that Mclean smoked cannabis the night prior to being pulled over by police, and uses it to help him sleep.“It is not something he wants to do, but it is something he has really struggled without,” Ms Meredith said.Magistrates disqualified Mclean, of West Parade, Halifax, West Yorkshire, from driving for 12 months, and made an order for the cannabis to be forfeited and destroyed.The defendant will also pay a £200 fine, £80 victim surcharge and £50 in legal costs.