Bonds gets two years probation

Baseball's all-time record home run hitter Barry Bonds has been sentenced to 30 days' house arrest for misleading a grand jury but will remain free pending an appeal, according to reports in the United States.

Bonds was convicted in April of one count of obstructing a federal grand jury investigation into steroid use by athletes connected to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative. The BALCO case has seen drug convictions across a number of sports, including athletics and American football as well as baseball.

Three other charges, accusing Bonds of lying when he denied both taking performance-enhancing drugs and receiving injections from someone other than his doctor, were dropped after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

US district judge Susan Illston sentenced him to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service as well as a $4,000 fine, but the sentence was delayed pending an appeal by Bonds against his conviction.