A Peel man has been sentenced to community service after he ran from police because he had cannabis in his rucksack.

Lee John Smith, of Elm Drive, then hit an officer on the arm as he flailed his arms around during his arrest.

The 35-year-old admitted offences of assault with intent to resist arrest and possession of cannabis.

Magistrates sentenced Smith to 180 hours of community service.

He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to the police officer.

We previously reported that police officers saw Smith riding a bicycle with no lights on at Ballafesson Road in Port Erin on July 25 at 11.30pm.

He appeared to have been drinking and when spoken to by police made off on his bike at first, then on foot, discarding his back pack as he went.

He was caught but as Smith struggled with police, he struck an officer on the forearm.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain said that Smith had probably come off worse as a police dog had taken hold of his forearm.

Wraps

The rucksack was found to contain three small wraps of cannabis.

When interviewed later he handed in a prepared statement admitting to riding the bike after having two or three pints and saying he had tried to escape because he had the drug in his bag.

However, he denied resisting arrest.

The court heard that no weight or value for the cannabis had been provided by the police.

Smith entered a basis of plea in court in which he accepted that he had flailed his arm, striking the officer’s arm, in an attempt to break free, rather than it being a deliberate attempt to harm the officer.

Defence advocate Ian Kermode said that his client had only one offence on his record in the last nine years.

Smith was said to be currently subject to a community service order imposed in May 2018 for which he has 79 hours left out of 180.

Community service

Mr Kermode said that his client had been unable to complete more of that order because he had been signed off work for seven months with a broken wrist and that there was a waiting list to do community service work on a Sunday.

A probation report assessed Smith as a low risk of reoffending and of harm to others.

Magistrates ruled that the new community service order should also replace the one imposed in May 2018 which was revoked.

Smith was also ordered to pay prosecution costs totalling £125.