A MAN has appeared in court to admit five charges of driving under the influence of a class A drug.

Sergiu Grigoriu, of Gutteridge Hall Lane, Weeley, appeared in Colchester Magistrates Court earlier this month where he was banned from holding a driving licence for more than two years after it was found he drove through Colchester in his Peugeot after taking cocaine.

The 23-year-old admitted to driving on Mersea Road, Brook Street, Old Coach Road, Cowdray Avenue, and Queen Elizabeth Way whilst he was under the influence of the drug in February last year.

Magistrates then met in Colchester on Monday, October 2 when they decided on the length of Grigoriu’s driving ban and the number of hours of community work he would be required to carry out.

According to blood tests, the results of which were specified in court papers, Grigoriu had 148 micrograms of analyte per litre of blood.

The threshold limit for illegal drugs in an individual’s blood is ten micrograms of analyte per litre, a level sometimes reached because of accidental exposure.

Magistrates have banned Grigoriu from driving for 30 months, and have also ordered the 23-year-old to carry out 140 hours of community work.

Grigoriu must also pay a £200 fine.