A NURSE at Whitemoor prison lost his job after he drove with a cocktail of drugs in his blood stream. A concerned motorist alerted police after seeing Simon Cursley driving erratically – and then found him apparently asleep sitting alongside a petrol pump

A NURSE at Whitemoor prison lost his job after he drove with a cocktail of drugs in his blood stream.

A concerned motorist alerted police after seeing Simon Cursley driving erratically - and then found him apparently asleep sitting alongside a petrol pump at a Chatteris garage.

"He had been working seven nights in a row, and he was extremely tired, a lot of the problem would have been down to tiredness," solicitor Roger Glazebrook told Fenland magistrates.

"The previous night he had taken some prescription drugs. He accepts they would have made his driving worse."

Cursley, 40, of Splash Lane, Wyton, admitted driving on the A141 Isle of Ely Way at Chatteris when unfit through drugs. He was fined �100, banned from driving for 12 months, and must pay �85 costs and a �15 surcharge.

Motorist David King had seen Cursley driving at 30mph along a road with a 60 mph limit, said Andrea Fawcett, prosecuting.

"His car indicated left but turned right," she said. "His car swerved right, causing oncoming traffic to swerve.

"At a roundabout he made a full circuit, then went into a petrol station. He appeared to be asleep.

"He was unsteady on his feet, very sleepy, and dribbling from his mouth. He gave a negative breath test. A doctor concluded he must be under the influence of drugs."

A blood test showed the presence of diazepam, codeine and clozapine, said Ms Fawcett.

Mr Glazebrook also told the court that Cursley had lost his job as a result of the offence.

"He was taken into the office and told he must face internal discipline or resign," he added. "He has let his registration as a nurse go.