A Wiltshire man has narrowly avoided a prison sentence after being caught drug driving while disqualified.

Bradley Hull, of Marne Crescent, Salisbury, appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday, August 21 and pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of drugs, driving while disqualified and uninsured and having fraudulent plates on the vehicle.

The court heard how Hull was seen driving around Great Western Way in Swindon on February 26 just before 1am in a Volkswagen Caddy van, which police were looking for after receiving reports of cloned licence plates.

Officers stopped the vehicle, approached the driver’s-side door and removed the keys from the ignition, while Hull was behind the wheel and his girlfriend was in the passenger seat.

He admitted he was already disqualified from driving but claimed his girlfriend did not know about the ban and had asked him for a lift home, but officers also noticed a smell of cannabis in the vehicle and Hull’s pupils appeared to be enlarged.

The court heard that during the roadside drug test, he told officers he would fail because he smokes cannabis “to medicate himself” and failed both this test and a blood test at Gablecross Police Station.

Hull, who had 17 convictions as a juvenile, has similar offences on his record including drug driving in 2020 and failing to provide a specimen for testing in 2023.

In mitigation Hull’s barrister argued that he shared the vehicle with his friend, who used it for work during the day, while Hull slept in it at night because he was homeless.

However, now Hull has more stability and lives with his girlfriend, who is helping him to set up appointments with the council to find housing.

She added that Hull, a self-employed labourer, was still making it to work while being homeless and doing everything he could to keep on top of his responsibilities and he was driving the vehicle on the day he was caught because he was offered work and could not miss that opportunity.

The magistrate warned him that the case could have involved a custodial sentence.

He said: “You must be responsible this time. The work with probation is imperative and there’s a lot of work for you to do here.

“You have an opportunity in your sentencing to get to a better place in your life.”

Hull was disqualified from driving for 38 months, given an 18-month community order, which includes completing 150 hours of unpaid work, and fined £449.