A COMMUNITY carer lost the job she loved when she was caught driving after smoking cannabis, a court has heard.

Heidi Hilary Balzer, 31, of Alhan, Poppit Sands, St Dogmaels, appeared before Aberystwyth magistrates to admit cannabis possession and driving while over the controlled drug limit.

The court heard that police stopped Balzer’s Citroen C1 on the A487 near Cardigan, for a spot check, at 5pm on May 6.

Officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis in the car and also that Balzer's speech was slurred and her pupils dilated.

She told them there was a cannabis joint in the car’s centre console, which she had partially smoked at lunch time.

A roadside test for cannabis proved positive, and she was found to have a level of 6.6 micrograms in blood, the legal limit is two.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said cannabis was also found during a search of Balzer’s home address.

She told officers she smoked up to "ten spliffs a day" to help with her bipolar disorder, and had smoked for the past ten years.

Stephen Welch, defending, said Balzer worked as a community carer and was of "exemplary character", but had lost her job as a result of the incident.

Mr Welch said: “In anticipation of losing her licence she has stopped that job, which she loved doing, and has been to see some of her former clients to explain why she can’t continue to care for them.”

The court heard that the single mother would now face difficulties getting her child to school.

Mr Welch added: “She moved out of Newcastle Emlyn to avoid meeting up with drug users again, and falling back into that lifestyle, which she managed to get out of.

“She no longer smokes cannabis, which she had done habitually for years.”

Magistrates fined Balzer £120 and ordered her to pay £85 court costs and a £30 surcharge.

She was disqualified from driving for a year.

A 12-month conditional discharge was imposed for the cannabis possession offence, and a destruction order was made for the seized drugs.