AN IRVINE teenager took a car for a joyride around the town while high on drugs - then crashed off the road while trying to evade police.

Robbie Young was just 17 when he committed a number of offences during the incident more than a year ago.

Now aged 18, the teen pleaded guilty to five charges during a hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

Young, of Donaldson Drive, admitted one charge of driving dangerously on Annick Road, Towerlands Road and elsewhere in the town on November 4, 2022.

Court papers describe how the teen repeatedly drove at excessive speeds for the roads and conditions, drove through 'no entry' signs, failed to give way at junctions, and failed to moderate his speed in accordance with traffic calming measures.

The documents further add that Young also tried to drive around a police vehicle blocking his path, and that as a result he lost control of the vehicle he was driving, struck a kerb, left the carriageway and propelled the vehicle down an embankment.

Young also admitted charges of driving without insurance and without a relevant licence.

He pleaded guilty to two further charges of driving while over the legal limit for two different drugs during the same incident.

One charge described how the proportion of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol - the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis - in Young's blood was 4.2 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of blood, more than double the limit of 2 microgrammes.

Young also supplied a sample which was double the legal limit for benzoylecgonine - the major metabolite of cocaine.

The limit is 50 microgrammes per 100ml of blood, but Young's sample gave a reading of 130 microgrammes.

Sentence was deferred for background reports, and Young will return to court next year.