A TOP amateur boxer from Droitwich Spa has been given two years' detention for being involved in drug dealing in a nightclub.

Apprentice bricklayer Matthew Greening had represented England and captained a national team against Russia and Germany.

He started boxing when he was ten, trained three times a week and hoped to turn professional, his counsel, Charles Crow, told Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

Greening, aged 18, of Winslow Avenue, pleaded guilty to possessing ecstasy with intent to supply in the Torch nightclub, Cripplegate Park, Worcester.

He was spotted slipping a tablet to another customer in the toilets, said prosecuting lawyer Julie Sparrow.

Police found 50 tablets worth about £400 after a search.

Greening told them he was looking after the tablets for a known drug peddler but did not know what they were.

He had a previous conviction for assault and intimidating witnesses for which he was given community service.

Mr Crow said Greening did not have a drug habit but stupidly accepted the tablets when he was drunk.

The court heard that he reacted in panic and tried to throw them away when the police were called.

Greening was taking a bricklaying course at Worcester College of Technology and was studying for an NVQ qualification.

Recorder Douglas Readings said he accepted the defendant had not planned to deal in drugs at the club but was nevertheless supporting an insidious and unpleasant trade.

He took into account that Green was 'a bright hope in British sport' but said custody was inevitable.