A Douglas teenager has been fined £500 after admitting being under the influence of cannabis while in charge of a vehicle.

Apprentice joiner Jacob Batty, of Kensington Road, also had his driving licence endorsed with 10 penalty points and was ordered to pay £167.44 prosecution and medical costs.

Prosecutor Richard Butters told the court how, in the early hours of March 18, police spoke to Batty, who is 19, as he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a Ford Fiesta.

There was a smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle and Batty was said to have had glazed eyes, dilated pupils and slurred speech.

He was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit, though he was eventually charged with being in charge of the vehicle rather than driving it.

He was examined by a doctor who was of the opinion that Batty was under the influence of a controlled substance and his reactions would have been too slow to drive safely.

A blood test produced a result showing the amount of cannabis in Batty’s blood exceeded the legal limit.

Defence advocate Paul Glover said: ’Mr Batty is still a very young man who has learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience.

’This is his first-ever offence and his first involvement with the police. He assures me he won’t be back in court again.

’The probation report is extremely positive. Clearly he understands he has done wrong. He has taken a grown-up and mature approach.

’The report says that Mr Batty has ended his relationship with cannabis. He was only a social user for a short period of time.

’He is going to steer clear in the future. Without trying to play down the incident it is at the lower end of the scale. He wasn’t driving and tells me he wasn’t intending to.

’He is an apprentice joiner and needs his licence for work so we would ask that the court use its discretion and does not disqualify him.’

The court heard that Batty previously had a clean driving licence so the 10 penalty points will not result in him being disqualified from driving.