THE son of Harry Redknapp today blamed the ‘droopy eyes’ he inherited from his father for giving the impression he was driving under the influence of drugs.

Mark Redknapp denied he had taken cocaine before he stopped in his Mercedes car near his parent’s home in Sandbanks.

Officers previously told Poole Magistrates' Court they suspected the 49-year-old was high on drugs because his eyes were ‘droopy’ and he kept cleaning his teeth with his tongue.

A roadside breath test then showed Mr Redknapp to be 15 times over the drug drive limit after testing positive for the cocaine derivative benzoylecgonine.

Redknapp said his eyes always looked saggy, just like his father Harry’s. His friend, former England rugby player Paul Sackey, said in a statement that he had never known Redknapp to take drugs.

Mr Sackey said he had been with the defendant two nights before his arrest and he had only drunk Peroni, with no sign of drug taking.

Redknapp, a property developer, told the court that one of the two arresting officers "took an instant dislike" to him while the other talked to him about football.

He added that when he arrived at Poole police station there were "20 officers looking at me because my name is Redknapp”.

“It did seem that the lady officer took a disliking to me straight away,” he said.

“I told [the police] I have not done drugs and never have. Unfortunately having droopy, heavy eyes is a genetic condition – my father has them and so do I.

“I have had an operation on them in the past but they were definitely not bloodshot.

“My mouth was dry because I was nervous and anxious, as anybody would be while sat in the back of a police car.”

Redknapp, of Minterne Road, Poole, was stopped by police in his Mercedes C63 saloon car in Canford Cliffs at 8pm on April 2, 2018.

He denies a charge of drug driving.

Prosecutors claim a blood test showed he had 749 micrograms of benzoylecgonine in his system. The legal limit is 50.

Lucy Redknapp, Redknapp’s wife of 12 years, told the court: “On April 2 Mark’s eyes were no different to any other day.

“He has baggy eyes like his father. It is hereditary.

"Mark is a trustworthy gentleman who cares for his family very much. I do not believe Mark took drugs.

"He was not acting in an unusual way and if he had I would have called his mum."

An expert toxicologist told the court the roadside swab carried out on Redknapp was not checked by police after the recommended eight minutes when it was negative.

When it was checked at 12 minutes red lines indicating a positive result had appeared.

Dr Gavin Trotter said: "If you read the test before eight minutes you might get a false negative.

"After that point more of the sample may have flowed to the area of the device that is analysed and therefore you could get a false positive.

"Red test lines indicate a positive test and there were none after eight minutes in this case."

Dr Trotter also said that droopy eyes were not a sign of cocaine use.

In his closing speech, Phillip Lucas, defending, told the court his client should be acquitted.

He said: "If the officer had followed the instructions, which she did not, and had read the result at eight minutes, it would have been a negative result.

"This is not what she did. She waited until there were red lines.

"This is clearly not what the instructions say and as Mr Trotter says if you leave it longer than eight minutes you can get a false reading.

"It is my submission that the defendant must be acquitted."

The case was adjourned until October 31 when a verdict is expected.