SINGER GEORGE MICHAEL has been sentenced to eight weeks in jail after being convicted of driving while under the influence of drugs.

Michael – real name Georgios Panayiotou (47) – crashed his Range Rover into a storefront in July, and was found to be in possession of two cannabis joints at the time.

He had pleaded guilty to the charges at Highbury Magistrates Court. It is his second conviction for the offence; he was found slumped over the steering wheel of his Mercedes in 2006. He has already admitted to a similar offence in 2007.

In the July crash, the singer’s jeep mounted the paths and crashed into the ‘Snappy Snaps’ shop in Hampstead, north London.

Officers at the scene observed that the singer was sweating and that his pupils were heavily dilated; searching his pockets after arresting him they found two rolled joints of marijuana. He had not, however, been drinking.

The singer had said on his website that he had been visiting a rehab clinic in London to try and kick his drug habit for good.

Michael wrote that “personal problems which I had tried to deal with myself had clearly got the better of me, and I am sorry that my pride has prevented me from seeking help before now.”