A cannabis dealer who was jailed today was told by the judge that he would have walked free if he had the courage to plead guilty.

Judge Michael Taylor told Anthony Douglas,26, that instead he had told a "cock and bull story" to a jury who had disbelieved him.

Douglas was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court on April 30 of possession with intent to supply.

Police raided his home on September 24 and they seized 121.4 grammes of cannabis, worth between £350 and £500, and drug dealing equipment.

A pre-sentence report said that he was making efforts to conquer his addiction to cannabis.

Judge Taylor told Douglas when he appeared for sentence:"Police found all the paraphrenalia of a drug dealer.

"You were foolish enough to have a trial. You told a cock and bull story to the jury and they disbelieved you.

"If you had had the courage to plead guilty at the outset the result would have been different."

Douglas of Dunbar Road, Hartlepool, was jailed for a year.