Barton gets probation for drink driving

Los Angeles: Actress Mischa Barton, who starred on the TV drama The O.C., was sentenced on Thursday to three years' unsupervised probation and ordered into an alcohol education programme after pleading no contest to drunken driving.

As part of the plea deal, which spared the London-born actress any jail time, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a marijuana possession charge and reduced a charge of driving without a licence to an infraction, a court official said.

Barton, 22, was not present for the proceedings in a Beverly Hills court. Her lawyer entered her no contest plea, the functional equivalent of pleading guilty in California, on her behalf.

"Ms Barton understands the seriousness of this situation and assumes full responsibility for her actions," her lawyer, Anthony V. Salerno, said in a statement following the hearing. "She and I are grateful to the court and the District Attorney's Office for the prompt and respectful resolution of the case."

In addition to probation, Barton was ordered to complete a three-month alcohol education programme and was fined about $2,000 (Dh7,350), a Los Angeles County court official said.