A BIKER on drugs who ignored a police request to stop, drove through a red light and later crashed has been banned from driving.

Shaun David Strange, aged 18, pleaded guilty at Weymouth Magistrates Court yesterday to driving over the limit of MDMA (ecstasy), THC (cannabis), failing to stop for police and driving a vehicle otherwise in accordance with a licence.

These charges relate to an incident on September 9, 2023, on Radipole Lane in Weymouth.

Robert Salame, prosecuting, said Strange had been riding his Honda motorbike on King Street in Weymouth with a woman passenger as pillion, despite not having a licence that would allow a passenger.

Police tried to stop Strange by flashing their lights. Strange drove through a red light and the officers opted not to pursue.

Later police came across the same bike on Radipole Lane - after it had crashed. The passenger had suffered a fractured toe in the collision.

Strange was breathalysed at the scene. The officer became suspicious after Strange asked if anything other than alcohol would show up. He was then arrested and a blood test confirmed he was over the limit for the two different drugs, MDMA (45 micrograms per 100 millilitres of blood - the limit is 10) and cannabis (4.4 micrograms per 100 millilitres of blood for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol - THC - the limit is 2).

Strange, representing himself, said in mitigation: "I was in a different mindset and I was not doing well. I have paid for this by harming someone who is very dear to me. It is hard for me, the fact that I harmed her. Seeing her suffer made me realise what a mistake I made."

The court heard that Strange, who has no previous convictions and indicated his guilt in a police interview shortly after the incident, has now changed his behaviour as a result of the incident.

The probation officer said that Strange had demonstrated remorse and had a difficult childhood. At the age of eight he was placed into the care of his grandparents. He started taking drugs at 14 to fit in with his peers and to deal with what happened in his childhood.

The chair of the magistrates, Graham Westbrook, said: "We have heard a lot about you. You pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, you have demonstrated remorse and have started to take control of your life.

"Your grandparents sitting at the back (in the public viewing gallery) are visibly mortified but they are here for you."

Strange, of Lyde Road in Yeovil, was ordered to complete a 12-month community order and 200 hours of community service. He has been disqualified from driving for 36 months and will pay the court a surcharge of £114 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.