A former industrial chemist who set up a laboratory in his cellar to produce drugs has been jailed for four months.

Shawn Dilley manufactured a small quantity of amphetamine and was "one step away" from producing ecstasy, Worcester Crown Court heard.

He stole chemicals and equipment worth £500 from his former employers Unilever, said Nicolas Cartwright, prosecuting.

But the laboratory in High Street, Bewdley, was discovered after he fell out with his girlfriend. Her 15-year-old daughter found bottles of chemicals stashed in a freezer.

Dilley, 32, who now lives in Kettering, pleaded guilty to attempting to produce ecstasy and amphetamine between April and November last year, producing amphetamine and theft between December 1998 and November last year.

Judge Alistair Macduff said the offences had required planning, cunning and a breach of trust against his former company.

But there was no suggestion that Dilley was trying to produce drugs on a commercial scale to supply others.

Mr Cartwright said Dilley, of previous good character, had a first class honours degree in chemistry and worked for Unilever for 15 years before he was sacked over his crimes.

In April last year he began a relationship with Isobel Ward.

Dilley secretly took stolen items to her cellar to make the drugs. But the relationship ended in the autumn of last year. Miss Ward's daughter then discovered "peculiarly wrapped" bottles and her mother challenged Dilley about their contents.

He claimed he was just one stage off producing £40,000 worth of Ecstasy, said Mr Cartwright. Miss Tracey Lloyd-Nesling, defending, said Dilley had been a hard worker and took a degree while holding down a full-time job. But he developed an amphetamine habit.

Since his arrest, he had been given counselling and treatment for depression. It was the last time he would be before the courts.

Judge Macduff told him he had let his family and friends down and added: "It was only by good fortune that you did not succeed."