A van driver who was involved in a crash between Newtown and Welshpool has been banned for three years after he was caught drug driving for the second time since 2020.

Ryan Andrews, 29, had smoked cannabis the day before the crash which involved a Ford Transit and a Renault Scenic along the A483 near Garthmyl shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, October 11, last year.

He pleaded guilty to the drug driving offence when he appeared at Welshpool Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, April 23.

Prosecutor Helen Tench said there was no evidence that driving under the influence of cannabis caused the collision, but it was an aggravating feature. She added that there was "obvious impairment”, and Andrews' driving was "unacceptable".

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A drug test found that Andrews had been driving with 2.7 microgrammes of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, a metabolite of cannabis, per litre of blood. The legal limit is two microgrammes.

Robert Hanratty, acting on behalf of Andrews, said: "There is no information about how the collision was caused. The other driver didn’t have his lights on, Mr Andrews tells me.

"It just creeps above the drug drive limit but the inevitable three-year ban is justifiable."

Mr Hanratty added: "He smokes cannabis occasionally for anxiety issues. He smoked the day before and he didn’t think it was still in his system.

"No one was injured. There was a bit of damage to the two vehicles."

Magistrates ordered Andrews, from near Llandyssil, to pay a £400 fine, £160 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.