A MAN has been handed a suspended sentence for showing a “complete disregard to the safety of other road users” after consuming a “cocktail of prescribed and illegal drugs”.

James Lloyd White, 42, was accused of multiple motoring offences in relation to when he was reportedly behind the wheel of a car in Talbot Avenue, Bournemouth, on April 22 last year.

White, of Mayfair Gardens, Bournemouth, appeared at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Monday, January 31, where he had pleaded guilty to driving whilst unfit to drive through drugs. He previously admitted driving with a provisional licence without a suitable person to supervise him, using a vehicle without insurance and possession of cocaine.

Magistrates committed the defendant to prison for 23 weeks, suspended for 12 months.

Giving details on the reason for the custodial sentence, courts papers state: “This was a serious case of driving whilst unfit to do so because of drugs.

“The defendant who has no driving licence or insurance consumed a cocktail of prescribed and illegal drugs and drove a motor vehicle with a complete disregard to the safety of other road users.”

The suspended sentence included a five-month overnight curfew.

White was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 36 months and ordered to pay a £128 surcharge and £300 costs.

The cocaine seized on his arrested was to be forfeited and destroyed by police.