A WORCESTER Crown Court judge has struck a bargain with a 23-year-old engineer who admitted drug dealing and growing cannabis.

Judge David McEvoy QC told Scott Blackburn he would not send him to prison if he kept off drugs and did not commit any offences for six months.

He deferred sentence until Wednesday, July 14 on Blackburn, of Bath Road, Worcester, who pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and to cultivating and supplying cannabis.

The judge told Blackburn that he was going to give him "the chance of a lifetime" to avoid prison. If Blackburn kept his part of the bargain, his penalty would be non-custodial orders.

Miss Andrea Orchard, defending, said Blackburn had begun using cannabis at the age of 15 and progressed to cocaine when he was 20. Otherwise, he had a normal life, with supportive parents, a steady job and marrying in 2000.

But his drug habit had led to the break-up of his marriage - his wife had left him with their three-year-old daughter, and he had debts of £5,000. Unpaid rent amounted for £1,000 and he owed £2,000 to his drug supplier.

Blackburn was arrested in May after police raided his flat and found cannabis and cocaine in a kitchen cupboard, said Miss Samantha Crabbe, prosecuting. The value of the drugs was estimated at £1,400.

Three cannabis plants were in a cabinet which had been converted into a growing unit. There were also scales and a list of customers. Blackburn said he spent between £300 and £600 a week on his drug habit.

Miss Orchard said Blackburn started to grow cannabis for his own use, but used the excess to sell to friends. He had been drug-free since his arrest.

The judge told Blackburn he was "a very silly man" to have become involved in the drugs scene. Using cannabis could lead to mental illness where people were unable to distinguish reality from fantasy.

He warned that if Blackburn did not give up drugs he would face a substantial term of imprisonment.