Concerned that his dad’s football team were losing, a Chard man left the house before the full-time whistle to avoid a row but ended up being caught drug driving.

Spurs were losing in a Premier League match against Wolves when Vincent Collision made the call to get into his car before his father kicked off.

Police were on duty when they saw the defendant’s car which had no MoT and a polythene sheet stuck over a window.

They pulled him over and could smell cannabis when they spoke to him,  so they conducted a drugs swipe which was positive.

Collison, 28, of Combe Street, pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle on Crowshute Link in Chard on February 13 when the proportion of cannabis in his blood exceeded the specified limit.

He appeared in the dock before District Judge Angela Brereton, sitting at Yeovil, who was told that the police had pulled over his car at 3.45pm.

They found he had an expired MoT and only had a polythene sheet for a window that was not see-through.

Prosecutor Ann Ellery said: “The officers could smell cannabis and when the vehicle was searched they found a plastic ice-cream tub containing cannabis flowering heads.

“The police carried out a drugs swipe test which was positive and a further test showed a reading of 7mcg of cannabis in his blood when the legal limit is 2mcg.”

Defending himself, Collison said that he had been watching football with his dad when he became worried that an argument was about to erupt.

“Spurs were losing and I tried to avoid an argument with my dad and thought I would leave the house and drive to get a sandwich,” he said.

“All I was doing was just trying to escape an argument.”

Collison said the inevitable driving ban would make it harder for him to get to work and said he was using cannabis at the time to help alleviate stress.

“Since this happened it has woken me up and I’m not using it anywhere near as much now,” he added.

For drug driving he was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £450 with £85 costs and a £45 victim surcharge.