A motorist who crashed while under the influence of cannabis has been fined £1,000 and banned from the roads for two years.

Don Mahanama appeared before magistrates on September 24 and was also ordered to take an extended driving test after his ban ended.

Prosecuting advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that the defendant was driving a BMW 320 on the A18 Mountain Road, on April 1 at 4.07pm.

He was travelling around a right-hand corner at the 33rd milestone when he lost control of the rear of the vehicle.

The BMW slid into the opposite carriageway, with other vehicles oncoming.

Mahanama managed to move out of that lane but overcorrected and went into a field, down a hillside, and hit a fence around 30 metres from the road.

Police arrived and a drug wipe test proved positive for cannabis.

At police headquarters, a blood sample was taken which was sent for analysis to the UK.

This was later returned and produced a reading of 2.4, above the legal cannabis limit of two.

When interviewed, Mahanama gave a full account of the accident, saying there had been a sudden change in weather conditions.

He said that he had smoked cannabis three days prior to the accident, and had thought he would be ok to drive.

The court heard that the 27-year-old has no previous convictions.

Defence advocate Kaitlyn Shimmin handed in a letter of reference for the defendant.

Ms Shimmin said that it had not been a high reading and that Mahanama, who lives at Mona Terrace in Douglas, wanted to apologise to the court.

Magistrates also ordered him to pay £125 prosecution costs.

He agreed to pay at a rate of £100 per week.