A DRUG driver fractured his spine when he crashed into roadworks at a major York junction and was stun gunned twice by police, a court heard.

An eye-witness told police how Ashley Lyle Cook’s Audi TT hit a lamp-post and scattered debris on the road as it travelled out of Nunnery Lane across Blossom Street into Queen’s Road.

Geoff Ellis, prosecuting, said when police arrived, Cook appeared to be high on something and reacted so aggressively towards them, they had to stun gun him twice as they tried to arrest him.

He told them he took cannabis and unprescribed diazepam to sleep and steroids because he was body building.

Defence solicitor Lee-Anne Robins-Hicks said the incident on January 15 had left him with a broken spine and unable to work.

She said he had not been aggressive towards the police, who Cook claimed had misinterpreted his behaviour.

“He was in fact reeling from the impact of the collision,” she said. “It was disorientating”.

Cook, 37, of Cornlands Road, Acomb, pleaded guilty to cannabis driving and assaulting a police emergency worker.

“Whether the drugs contributed to you being involved in the collision with the roadworks or ice on the roads, if you decide to take drugs and get behind the wheel, you are putting not only yourself but others at risk,” said district judge Adrian Lower at York Magistrates Court.

He warned that cannabis stays in the body longer than alcohol. Cook was banned from driving for 12 months .

He was ordered to pay a total of £420 consisting of £100 compensation to the police officer he injured during the incident, a £220 fine and £100 prosecution costs. Mrs Robins-Hicks said he lives on benefits.

Mr Ellis said the eye witness saw the Audi TT travelling at speed before the collision with the lamp-post and roadworks at 8pm on January 15.

As the car passed in front of him, he saw Cook sitting in the car appearing “confused”.

Cook did not respond to police requests or orders when they arrived and was warned that he would be stun gunned. The first use of the stun gun failed to stop him resisting arrest and he ended up on the ground with one of the officers on top of him.

He was then stun gunned a second time to “prevent injury” to the officer on top of him, said Mr Ellis.

He kicked out recklessly and hit the standing officer on the leg, causing him a minor injury.

Mrs Robins-Hicks said Cook had believed he was safe to drive because he had taken cannabis 22 hours before driving. He had passed a roadside drugs swipe but had failed the subsequent blood test.

He had not assaulted the police officer intentionally. He was attending pain clinics and no longer taking cannabis or steroids or unprescribed diazepam.