A defective light in a car led to police discovering a large stash of drugs in a Douglas hotel room.

Police noticed a BMW travelling along Peel Road towards Douglas at 1am on May 12, 2023 and decided to stop the car due to a defective light.

The driver, Ethan Brereton-Sayle, was spoken to and officers suspected he was under the influence of drugs and was detained for a search. Two packets of white powder were found and Brereton-Sayle was arrested on suspicion of drug possession.

Officers then received a call from the manager of a hotel in the city centre to say drugs were found in a room under Brereton-Sayle’s name. A search was made and 217 grammes of cannabis was found with a street value of £4,346.

One of the packets found in the car was identified as ketamine worth £20-25. The other packet did not contain illegal drugs.

In a separate incident, on the morning of September 18, Brereton-Sayle was driving along Ballanard Road and turned off, stopping in Baldwin Road.

Police in an unmarked vehicle smelled cannabis coming from the vehicle and spoke to him.

While Brereton-Sayle was not found to be driving under the influence of drugs, he was driving while disqualified and was arrested.

At the Court of General Gaol Delivery, Brereton-Sayle was sentenced after admitting possession of ketamine, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, driving while disqualified and having no insurance.

But defence advocate Stephen Wood told the court any prison sentence should be suspended as his client was sorting his life out.

He said: ‘Since these offences, my client has got his own place and a job, he is now a contributing member of society.

‘The chaotic lifestyle of homelessness and drug-taking has stopped. He is drug-free and working hard.’

Deemster Graeme Cook agreed to give Brereton-Sayle one final chance.

The deemster handed him a nine-month prison sentence for possession of cannabis with intent to supply and one week concurrently for possession of ketamine. He was handed a six-month prison sentence for driving while disqualified to run consecutively.

But both sentences have been suspended for two years and Brereton-Sayle will be under a supervision order. He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay costs of £500.