A DRUG dealer found with £1,000 of cannabis in his rucksack has been spared jail.

Jason Cartwright had already admitted possession of a class B drug with intent to supply when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced.

The 31-year-old, of no fixed abode, was searched by police when they attended an unrelated incident in Sebright Avenue in Worcester on September 1 last year.

Officers followed the defendant into London Road after they detected a strong smell of cannabis.

Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting, said officers noticed Cartwright was unsteady on his feet and when they asked him if he had any cannabis he said he had just smoked a joint.

However, when officers asked him about what was in his bag he admitted he had cannabis inside.

They found 20 zip-lock bags containing around £1,000 of cannabis and £754 in cash. His phone was also seized which revealed evidence he had been dealing drugs.

He answered no comment to some of the questions in police interview but admitted: “I do sell a bit of weed.”

Mr Amarasinghe said: “He wouldn’t get drawn into who he bought it from and who he sold it onto.”

The drug dealing began two years before according to the time stamp on his phone, Mr Amarasinghe told the court.

He said Cartwright’s drug dealing only came to light because of this ‘chance meeting’ with police.

A probation officer, who spoke to Cartwright, described the offence as ‘relatively unsophisticated’. He said Cartwright was ‘sofa surfing’, making him unsuitable for a curfew which requires a stable address.

He also said Cartwright was struggling to obtain benefits but hoped to received jobseeker’s allowance from this Friday.

Cartwright has conviction for possession of cannabis from 2004 and 2008 and received a community order in 2010 for causing criminal damage.

Cartwright, who represented himself, said he could do unpaid work as he had completed 280 hours in the past ‘back when I was a kid’. He said he had been out of work, trying to support himself on £125 a month and at one point had no money and no food.

Judge Nicholas Cole said Cartwright had indicated a guilty plea at an early stage and had no previous convictions for dealing drugs.

He said: “You were not a large scale, prolific street dealer nor was it supplying to a small number of close associates and friends. It falls in the middle of the guideline.”

Judge Cole sentenced him to eight months in prison suspended for 18 months and ordered him to complete up to 80 hours of unpaid work and up to 40 rehabilitation activity days.

A proceeds of crime act timetable was also drawn up with a hearing scheduled for April 23.