A DISGRACED squaddie who was fired from the army for drug driving claims he "can't remember" taking cocaine.

Cameron Morris, 21, of Orchid Close in Kent, had four times the legal limit of a cocaine breakdown in his system when he was stopped by police in Tidworth on December 3.

Police saw a Mercedes C220 clip the kerb of a petrol station while the driver sped along St Andrews Road at around 12.25am.

Morris, a serving soldier at the time, was pulled over and passed a roadside breath test but was taken into custody for a blood test.

He was found to have 11 micrograms of cocaine in a litre of his blood, the legal limit being 10 mcg.

Morris also had 240 mcg of Benzoylecgonine in his system while the legal limit for the breakdown of cocaine is 50 mcg.

Salisbury Journal: Cameron Morris was sentenced at Salisbury Law Courts.Cameron Morris was sentenced at Salisbury Law Courts. (Image: Newsquest)

Salisbury Magistrates' Court heard how Morris had been at a "function" the night before where he had been drinking but "can't remember using drugs". 

Bob Scott, mitigating, said Morris had been discharged from the army following the incident.

He had completed a tour of Estonia during his four years of service.

Morris then worked in construction for his father but they had recently fallen out, forcing the young man to move in with his mother without an income.

Aware of a mandatory driving ban for drug drivers, Morris decided he would move to the Galápagos Islands to become a qualified divemaster.

Mr Scott told the court: "[Morris] certainly won't need to be driving in the UK.

"Unfortunately he took drugs but did not remember doing so."

Magistrate Sarah Neish sentenced Morris to a 12-month driving ban and ordered him to pay a £120 fine as well as a £48 surcharge and £85 court costs on Friday, May 24.

He was given credit for his early guilty plea.