A DRUG driver who was caught in Brampton said he drove the short distance to a local shop "because it was raining".

A blood test confirmed that 41-year-old Jonathan Calver had both morphine and cocaine in his system, though he was only over the limit for the latter, Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard. The defendant, of Kingwater Close, Brampton, admitted that offence.

It happened on October 30 last year.

A police officer stopped the defendant after spotting him behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf which belonged to the defendant's friend,

The defendant was over the limit by just over one and a half times, a blood analysis confirmed. Defence lawyer Steven Marsh told the court that the defendant had agreed to drive to a local shop after a request from his friend.

The distance involved from the defendant’s home to the centre or Brampton where she shop was amounted to approximately 500 metres.

“But it was raining and that’s why he decided to drive,” said the lawyer. Mr Marsh said the officer who stopped the defendant had not done so because of the manner of driving. It was because he wanted to check the defendant’s documents.

When Calver had first seen the police car’s blue lights activated, he had assumed that the police officer wanted to drive past him, and that was why he had not pulled over immediately.

The police car’s siren was activated only as the officer drove on to Gelt Road.

The defendant had, however, stopped outside his home address in Kingwater Close.

Mr Marsh said the defendant could not understand why morphine was in his system. Calver was, however, currently taking five prescribed medications, which included antidepressants and methadone.

He was last convicted of an offence in 2016, the court heard.

Magistrates accepted that there was no indication of bad driving but they said they were concerned about the “cocktail” of drugs found in the defendant’s system. They imposed a 12-month community order, to include five rehabilitation activity days.

The defendant must also observe an eight week 7pm to 7am curfew and Calver was disqualified from driving for 18 months. He must pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.