Sizemore spared jail for drug use

Tom Sizemore said he had "surrendered" to his drug problem

Actor Tom Sizemore has been spared jail after taking drugs while on probation.

The 44-year-old Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down actor could have been sent to prison for up to 16 months.

At a hearing in Los Angeles, a tearful Sizemore admitted using methamphetamine while on probation for a previous offence of possessing the drug.

But he was placed on three years' further probation plus weekly drug tests and 90 days in a treatment clinic he will not be able to leave.

He has been on probation since October 2004, when he was given a 16-month suspended jail sentence for possessing methamphetamine.

Tom Sizemore (left) appeared with Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan

His probation was revoked in July after he admitted using a prosthetic device to fake a drug test.

It was reinstated in October by a judge who praised his progress, but he tested positive for drugs last month.

In a TV interview due to be screened on Monday, Sizemore said he admitted his relapse to his probation officer in January.

"I didn't want to tell her the truth initially," he said. "But I [thought], you know what? This is that moment where you're either starting to get it or not get it. You know, it's called surrender."

He added: "Once you [acknowledge] it, there's a great relief, because now you started the first step in this horror show for mending."

In 2003, Sizemore was convicted of domestic violence involving his ex-girlfriend, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.

He is free on bail pending an appeal in that case.