Judge becomes Doherty's heroine

Pete Doherty. Picture / Reuters

British rocker Pete Doherty smiled and hugged fans outside court on Monday after a judge ruled he would not serve jail time for possession of drugs including heroin and crack cocaine.

District Judge Jane McIvor ordered the 27-year-old Babyshambles singer to pay £770 ($2251) in fines and costs and banned him from driving for four months.

"I feel relieved," Doherty told reporters outside Thames Magistrate Court in London.

Doherty was arrested in April in possession of heroin, cannabis and cocaine just three hours after he was sentenced to two years of community service for previous drug offences.

He was arrested again on August 7 with a crack pipe and small amount of crack cocaine, and pleaded guilty on August 18.