A RUNCORN man who drove a motorcycle after smoking cannabis has been fined by the courts.

As well as drug driving, Declan Luhring also drove the vehicle without learner plates and with no insurance.

He appeared before Warrington Magistrates’ Court last week after pleading guilty to driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit, driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a motor vehicle on a road or public place without third party insurance.

Prosecuting, Angela Blackmore told the court how the offences happened on the evening of April 15 this year.

She said that Luhring, of Halton Brook Avenue, was stopped at a petrol station on Victoria Road in Runcorn.

He was not displaying ‘L’ plates and had no insurance – and when a roadside drug swipe was performed, he tested positive for cannabis.

The court heard how the 22-year-old has six previous convictions for 11 offences.

Defending, Ian Waites said that his client is a carer for his mum and sometimes uses cannabis in a recreational way.

He said that Luhring was only transporting the bike to his dads in the Old Town in Runcorn as he was worried for the safety of it at his own accommodation.

Mr Waites told the court that his client has ADHD which he said leads him to make impulsive decisions.

“He is not particularly well equipped to deal with things,” Mr Waites added.

“He does not always think things through.”

Luhring was handed £299 in court costs and was disqualified from driving for three years.