George Michael pleads guilty to drugs charges

George Michael has pleaded guilty to crashing his car while under the influence of cannabis and to possessing cannabis cigarettes for his personal use.

The 47-year-old singer appeared at Highbury Magistrates' Court in north London, where the assembled heard that Michael had been found by police slumped at the wheel of his Range Rover after driving it into a shop front in the early hours of 4 July.

Police reported that they suspected Michael was under the influence of drugs, as when they roused him, he was reportedly "spaced out", sweating and had dilated pupils.

He was then taken to Hampstead police station where a blood test showed cannabis in his system, but no alcohol.

Michael was handed an interim six-month driving ban by District Judge Robin McPhee. Judge McPhee added that the singer, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, will be sentenced at a later date after the court has taken into account the progress of a community order imposed on Michael in 2007.