A cocaine user has been banned from the road for a year after getting behind the wheel without insurance while nearly five times the drug-drive limit.

Billy Jones was spotted by police driving his Mitsubishi Shogun in Gravesend and officers decided to pull him over.

The 26-year-old was stopped on Thistle Road on February 10 and when officers checked their systems to see if he had insurance, they found he didn’t have any.

They then got him to do a roadside drugs swipe which tested positive.

He was arrested and further blood tests revealed he had 240 milligrammes of Benzoylecgonine (a cocaine by-product) per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 50.

Jones, of Ingoldsby Road, Gravesend, was later charged with drug driving and driving without insurance and admitted both offences when he appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on August 21.

Prosecutor James Nichols told the court Jones was of previous good character.

He added: “He was seen by officers who decided to stop him and they pulled him over.

“They found there was no insurance for him to drive the vehicle and a drug swipe proved positive for Benzoylecgonine and was later found to be over the limit.”

Magistrates were also told he now had a blemish on his character as he had now been convicted of an offence and that he had remorse and regret over his actions.

They were also told Jones was on Universal Credit and received £336 a month.

Magistrates banned Jones from driving for 12 months and also fined him £120 for the offence.

He was also fined £120 for the no insurance offence and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £96 as well as £85 court costs.

Jones will pay what he owes the court at a rate of £20 a month.