A FATHER-TO-BE has been banned from driving for 16 months for possessing drugs.

Leon Preece, 33, from Toll Gate Road, Ludlow, pleaded guilty to failure to provide a specimen for analysis and possession of cannabis.

The court heard how Preece was picked up by police near to the Three Elms trading estate in Hereford on September 1, suspecting he may be drunk.

Police opened his car to a strong smell of cannabis and a quantity of the drug for personal purposes in the footwell.

After being arrested, the 33-year-old refused to provide a specimen, although he admitted the cannabis was his.

The court heard how he was last before the court in September 2017 for burglary.

His defence stated how he was a responsible, working man with a baby on the way.

Preece received a fine of £380 and has been disqualified from driving for 16 months, at Hereford Magistrate's Court on September 19.