A 19-year-old has been banned from driving for two years and put on probation after being caught drug-driving twice in 10 days.

Jared Kenneth Ramsey Forsythe was also fined £200 for already being in breach of a previous suspended sentence (for drugs and money laundering) at the time of the offences.

Deemster Graeme Cook told him that in not sending him to custody, he was giving him a second chance but that he would not be getting another.

He will also be required to sit an extended driving test at the end of his ban.

On December 26 last year Forsythe was stopped by police while he was driving a Renault Twingo at Campion Way in Douglas.

Initially it was for a defective light but when officers spoke to the teenager they reported a smell of cannabis.

A drug wipe test proved positive for the class B drug and Forsythe was subsequently arrested.

At police headquarters, he gave a sample of blood which was sent for analysis and later produced a reading of 11, the legal limit being two.

On January 5, Forsythe was driving the same car, heading along Poortown Road coming out of Peel

He passed a police car, which was coming in the opposite direction, and officers reported that the Twingo was crossing over the centre lines on approach to a right-hand turn.

There were others in the car with him, which was acknowledged by his advocate as being an aggravating factor.

The police car turned around and followed Forsythe, then stopped him at Station Road in St John’s.

The teenager immediately admitted that he had smoked cannabis in the days before driving.

A drug wipe test proved positive for the drug and he was subsequently arrested.

A blood sample was taken at police headquarters which was again sent for analysis and later produced a reading of 6.7.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood described his client as ‘a vulnerable young man’ with ‘significant mental health issues’ including ADHD and bipolar disorder.

He added that he ‘was in a state of crisis’ at the time of the offences and had been using cannabis to self-medicate, though he had not used it in months.

Deemster Cook justified the imposition of such a long probation order because ‘this man does need a lot of supervision’.

A probation officer appeared in court speaking of how well Mr Forsyth had engaged with the service, whilst also admitting that through no fault of his own, he had perhaps not been provided with the level of support which he required.

Mr Forsyth was also ordered to pay £325 in legal costs, which he will pay at a rate of £10 per week, deducted from benefits.