A DRUGS driver asked if he could go to prison instead of losing his licence because of the resulting impact on his life, heard Skipton Magistrates Court.

Joseph Lumb, 31, was stopped by police on the A658, Leathley, near Pool-in-Wharfedale on May 9, this year, the court heard today (Friday).

Police had received information that Lumb's Renault Traffic van may have been involved in an earlier incident and had gone out to investigate, the court was told.

Lumb was stopped and after providing a positive roadside drugs wipe test, was arrested and taken into custody.

At the police station the evidential test showed he had 9.8 microgrammes of cannabis by-product delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in a litre of blood. The specified limit is 2.

Lumb, who admitted drugs driving, was a self- employed window cleaner who would not be able to work without his driving licence, the court was told.

There was no suggestion his driving had been at fault, and Lumb had believed he had been stopped on a routine police check.

He told police he had used cannabis the night before driving to help him to sleep and was surprised at the high reading.

Mitigating, Siobhan White, said the loss of his licence would have a huge impact on Lumb's life. He earned around £800 per month, not enough to employ someone to drive him to jobs, and had asked if he could be sent to prison instead of losing his driving licence, even though it was an offence that did not carry a prison sentence.

He had fully co-operated with police at the time and had no similar previous convictions, she added.

"He will lose his employment and has asked me if he could go to prison instead of losing his licence. It will considerably impact on him," said Miss White.

Lumb, of Mandale Road, Bradford, was banned from driving for 14 months. He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £48 and costs of £85.