Doherty: I'll stay off drugs

Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty has vowed to stay away from crack and heroin after being released from prison on charges of possessing drugs

The singer, who left Pentonville prison in north London with a 12-month community order, also spoke of his love for model Kate Moss.

In an interview for Channel 4 News, Doherty said his rock and roll lifestyle had contributed to his problem.

He admitted he had considered throwing a shoe over the plastic barrier in court if judges sent him back to prison, where he spent several days in custody.

Instead, magistrates in Ealing, west London, last week ordered him to take part in a drugs rehabilitation programme as part of his sentence.

Doherty said prison was "not a place anybody wants to be", adding: "Thousands of people pass through prison every day."

He said his sentence was "a lot to be going on with" and that he would not be taking more drugs.

"I've just been helped. I'm not going to make light of the fact I've been given a great chance, and take crack and heroin."

He insisted he was "not that much of a junkie anyway" but told how he was attending rehabilitation meetings and had blood tests every two weeks to prove he was drug-free.

Asked what the future held, he said: "Start the drug-free life that I'm looking forward to."

Doherty rejected criticism that his sentence was too lenient and said he was "being made an example of".

He added: "If I was not famous then I would not have the extremes, the corruptness and fortune that led me there in the first place."

The singer refused to say whether he had spoken to Moss since she arrived back in Britain to answer police questions over allegations that she snorted cocaine.

He added: "It's a bit rude (to ask about it). It's hard enough talking to my friends about it.

"It's people's lives, not a story. I met someone, I fell in love with them. We've had our ups and downs."