A learner driver accelerated at a man and dragged him down the road on the bonnet of his gran’s car during a drug-fuelled joyride.

Baby-faced Kane Sampson, 18, had swiped the keys to his grandmother’s Suzuki while she was away and jumped behind the wheel after taking amphetamines and cannabis.

He then ploughed into a mobility vehicle in Argyll Road, Ramsgate, attracting the attention of Josh Hill - the partner of the disabled owner.

As Mr Hill came out of his house to investigate the commotion, Sampson - who had friends in the car - sped towards him.

Prosecutor Simon Taylor said: “He stepped into the road and the defendant then deliberately accelerated towards him.

“Mr Hill went onto the bonnet and Sampson continued to drive for between 25 to 50 metres with Mr Hill clinging onto the bonnet.”

The prosecutor said Mr Hill fell to the ground and suffered bruising to his legs during the incident at about 6pm.

The Suzuki was later seen by officers at 2.20am and they gave chase. Sampson, of Adelaide Gardens, Ramsgate, then drove through red lights, broke the speed limit and failed to stop at junctions before striking a gate and demolishing part of wall at a house in St Lawrence, and damaging the owner’s car.

He was eventually arrested and admitted he had taken amphetamines and cannabis, the court heard.

“Mr Hill went onto the bonnet and Sampson continued to drive for between 25 to 50 metres with Mr Hill clinging onto the bonnet...” - prosecutor Simon Taylor

He admitted two charges of driving dangerously, driving while unfit through drugs and other motoring offences.

James Burke, defending, said Sampson had got in with a group of youths before the offences in May last year but now wanted to volunteer for the Sea Scouts.

He was sent to a Young Offender’s Institute for a year, given a two-year driving ban, and ordered to take an extended test before driving again.

Judge Simon James told him: “It is a miracle that no-one was more seriously hurt.

“You used that stolen car effectively as a weapon, driving straight at a stranger who had approached you because of a previous impact with a mobility vehicle.”

Investigating officer PC Courtney Woodward said: "When the owner of the damaged vehicle tried to speak to Sampson he drove at him, throwing him on the bonnet and carrying him around 20ft down the road before he was thrown off.

"The victim suffered grazes, cuts and bruises and was lucky he wasn’t more seriously injured."