A ‘spliff’ and a small bag of cannabis cost a man £590 when he was fined in court.

Darian Peach of Francis Road in Leyton was caught with the illegal class B drug on October 14 in Higham Hill, Walthamstow.

The 27-year-old appeared at Thames Magistrates Court on October 28 where he admitted one possession charge.

He was handed a £295 fine for the ‘spliff’ and remaining cannabis and a victim surcharge of £30.00.

Peach then had to pay £85.00 to the Crown Prosecution Service and a criminal courts charge of £180.00.

The drugs were destroyed.

A spliff is a cigarette rolled with both tobacco and marijuana.

While the Government has insisted it has no intention of relaxing the laws on Class B narcotic, police chiefs have increasingly been taking a more lenient approach, with users more likely to receive a warning than face prosecution.