A TEENAGER went on a drug-fuelled bender after getting into thousands of pounds worth of debt to an unscrupulous dealer.

Jamie Aldred was stopped in his car by police the afternoon after his “heavy night”, where he tried to overdose because of the stress of his situation.

The 18-year-old took a cocktail of drugs including cocaine, cannabis, and ecstasy (MDMA) in September last year.

He told officers: “I’m not going to lie, I had a heavy night last night.

“I only do drugs to take the stress away. I sniff a bit of s***. You can tell by my nose I do it all the time.

“I’ve smoked cannabis for three years, every day.”

At Worthing Magistrates’ Court he admitted four counts of being over the specified drug driving limit.

Some of the scientific tests showed he had so much drugs in his system that an accurate reading could not be obtained.

He had 44 microgrammes (mcg) of cocaine per litre of his blood, when the legal limit is 10mcg, and he had 327mcg of MDMA per litre of blood, when the legal limit is 10mcg.

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In court, he told probation officers that he owed as much as £8,000 to various dealers, sometimes spending £60 in a single day to fuel his cannabis habit.

But he walked away with a conditional discharge and an 18-month driving ban after convincing probation that he did not require treatment for drug addiction.

Gaynor Byng, prosecuting, said officers were on duty at 3.30pm on September 17 when they spotted Aldred’s Ford Fiesta.

“At the time there were a number of occupants in the vehicle which was seen to pull over by some shops.

“His eyes looked glazed and his pupils were dilated, so police believed he could be under the influence of drugs.”

In his defence he named a man called "River" as a drug dealer and the man who was insisting on payment of a drugs debt.

The probation officer later said the dealer was listed to appear in court that day.

Court documents show a man named River Atkinson was listed to appear at Worthing Magistrates' Court, accused of obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty in Duncton in July last year.

Aldred told probation "River" had robbed him at knifepoint and stolen his car, leaving him terrified.

He added: “My only explanation, as I said to the police, was I had my car robbed.

“I was in a lot of debt. I don’t know if you have heard of the name River.

“They are not very nice people.”

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A probation officer said: “He went for a complete blow out to get everything out of his head.

“He considered suicide through overdosing. The binge was one night before his arrest. He thought the drugs would be out of his system by that time.

“This offence is wrapped up in this world in which he appears to have no control over.”

The probation officer said Aldred was not expecting to get embroiled with a violent criminal.

Aldred, of Firs Avenue West in Bognor, quit his job as a car mechanic, as he is no longer able to do test drives.

Magistrate Victoria Willetts said she had listened carefully to the report, and recognised Aldred had no previous convictions.

He was banned from driving for 18 months and also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.