A 20-year-old fisherman has been put on probation after admitting obstructing a drug search and possessing cannabis.

Liam Gregory Caine tried to hide the drug in a hedge after police stopped a vehicle he was a passenger in.

Deemster Graeme Cook, sitting as Deputy High Bailiff, also ordered him to pay £125 prosecution costs.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told the court that police stopped the car in which Caine was a passenger on August 29 at 4pm, at Ballachurry Road in Port Erin.

The driver was initially stopped due to the car’s speed but there was said to be a smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle.

The duo were detained for a drug search and Caine told police he had a grinder but no cannabis.

However, he was then said to have emptied its contents onto the floor and started to try to grind it away with his feet.

The driver was also said to have tried to eat some of it.

Caine then walked down the road a bit and was seen putting an item in the hedge which police immediately recovered and was found to be 5.5 grams of cannabis, valued by them at £110.

During an interview, Caine, who lives at Glen Maye Road, Patrick, admitted walking off but denied trying to destroy evidence in the car.

A probation report said Caine was a self-employed skipper on a fishing boat who said that he had been using cannabis to self-medicate and to help him sleep.

He said that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and night terrors after a break-in at his house.

The report said that community service would be difficult for him due to his work hours but a probation order would assist him in getting proper assistance.

Defence advocate Paul Glover asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty pleas and urged the court to follow the recommendation of the report for a probation order.

The Deputy High Bailiff sentenced Caine to six months probation for each offence, to run concurrently.