A DISTRICT judge has expressed her sympathy to a man caught drug driving in the early hours of the morning - because the level of education about the crime among his age group is “poor”.

Morgan Zac Sobieralski admitted getting behind the wheel of his Audi A3 on November 6 last year when he had almost 700 micrograms of benzoylecgonine (BZE) per litre of blood.

The legal limit for BZE, a breakdown product of cocaine, at which police prosecute is 50 micrograms per litre.

The 22-year-old had been driving along Great Western Way at roughly 4am when police noticed his car had a broken brake light, and stopped him to alert him, prosecutor Keith Ballinger said.

But they noticed his eyes were glazed over and asked him to take a drugs swab, which was positive for cocaine.

Sentencing him at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (May 11), District Judge Joanna Dickens said that she had sympathy for him.

“Unfortunately a lot of people of your age do take illegal drugs, it shouldn’t happen but people do, and the level of education about drug driving is certainly not as good as drink driving.

“A lot of people really don’t understand the rules, it’s because the information isn’t out there.

“The level of education in your age group is poor, so I’m a little bit sympathetic, although you shouldn’t have taken drugs, to that aspect.

“This has been a steep learning curve,” she asked, to which Sobieralski nodded.

Currently, people convicted of drink driving are offered a rehabilitation course in exchange for a reduced disqualification period, but this is not offered to those convicted of drug driving.

Drug driving and drink driving come with a minimum disqualification period of one year – and District Judge Dickens said she would impose the minimum period on the self-employed telecoms engineer.

She also fined him £300, as well as ordering costs of £85 and a £34 victim surcharge.

Earlier, Gordon Hotson, representing Sobieralski, said that there had been no criticism of his client’s driving on the morning in question, and he had strayed out after his partner asked him to pick her and her friend up following a night out.

“He lives at the address given with his father, he is a self-employed telecoms engineer and he knows his inevitable disqualification will impact on that, but has put contingency plans in place to ensure he will still be able to generate an income,” Mr Hotson added.