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A drug driver has been banned from the roads for three years.

Simon Crowe, 42, got behind the wheel after taking cocaine.

Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard he was stopped by police driving a Peugeot Partner in Catcote Road, Hartlepool, on May 31.

Prosecutor Paige Sparks said his eyes were glazed and he failed a roadside drug swipe.

Catcote Road looking in the direction of Oxford Road. Picture by FRANK REID

Court papers showed Crowe exceeded the legal limit for BZE, a cocaine breakdown product, in his blood.

Ms Sparks said it also transpired that the car he was driving did not have valid insurance.

Crowe, of Stockton Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to both offences at an earlier hearing.

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After he returned to court to be sentenced, his solicitor, Andrew McGloin, said that Crowe’s mental health had “plummeted” at the the time after separating from his partner.

Mr McGloin said his client took cocaine “on occasions” in addition to prescribed medicine.

District Judge Marie Mallon disqualified Crowe from driving for three years and ordered him to pay costs.

Teesside Magistrates' Court hands down lengthy driving ban for Hartlepool motorist who took cocaine