Nolte ends three-year probation

Nolte plead no contest to the charge

Actor Nick Nolte has completed a three year probation order imposed on him for driving under the influence of drugs, a judge in California has ruled.

Nolte, 64, pleaded no contest to the charge in 2002 after he was spotted driving erratically.

He entered a rehabilitation centre for several weeks after sentencing.

At the time his lawyer suggested the actor had inadvertently consumed the so-called date-rape drug GHB after taking a weight training supplement.

A 2003 mug shot of Nolte showed him looking bedraggled

Following the latest hearing the actor said he was looking forward to starting work on a movie with Colin Farrell, who is currently in a treatment centre, and would be able to offer him "support".

Farrell is undergoing treatment for exhaustion and dependency on prescription drugs.

Nolte was arrested on 11 September 2002, and photos emerged of him looking bedraggled, with police saying he was "completely out of it".

He was put on probation with conditions of undergoing counselling and drug testing.

The Prince of Tides star later said it was a relief to be arrested because it signalled the end of his substance abuse.