Doherty faces heroin charge after court arrest

Troubled musician Pete Doherty was charged with possession of heroin following an incident at court, police said today.

The Babyshambles singer was arrested yesterday just moments after he was spared jail with a fine for driving offences.

The 30-year-old escaped a prison sentence at Gloucester Crown Court after admitting careless and drink-driving after a gig in the city.

But after he was told to pay £2,050 in fines and banned from driving for 18 months, police officers escorted him from the court to the police station across the road.

Gloucestershire Police today confirmed Doherty was charged last night with possession of heroin and released on bail.

Doherty will now appear at Gloucester Magistrates' Court in January on a date to be fixed.

A Gloucestershire Constabulary spokeswoman said: "A 30-year-old Wiltshire man has been charged with possession of heroin and was bailed to appear at Gloucester Magistrates in January."

Officers told Doherty of his arrest in the corridors of the Victorian court, and he was escorted down the steps where photographers were waiting.

Minutes before the dramatic scene, the court heard Kate Moss's former lover admit to careless driving on June 11 this year after playing a well-received gig to 300 fans at Guildhall.

He also admitted to drink-driving that night, having given a reading of 50 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Doherty had earlier admitted to two counts of drugs possession, and driving without a licence and without insurance, as part of the same episode.

Last night, it emerged that the singer could also be charged with offences linked to a hit-and-run which left a man in a critical condition.

His manager, Andrew Boyd, 42, of north London, has already appeared in court charged with a number of offences relating to the incident in Hadleigh, Suffolk, in September in which pedestrian Chris Corder was seriously injured.