A DRUG dealer caught four times with amphetamines and Ecstasy was jailed for three-and-a-half years yesterday.

Martin Jones, 37, was arrested on the streets of Bishop Auckland, Crook and Coundon, County Durham, with drugs hidden on his body, said Richard Cowan, prosecuting.

Jones had wraps of amphetamine sulphate and Ecstasy tablets, and told police that he wanted to sell pure amphetamine so that he got a good reputation for it.

Teesside Crown Court was told in the past he had committed burglaries to pay for his drug addiction but had decided to become a dealer.

He was bailed after each arrest while the substances were analysed, before charges were brought, said Mr Cowan.

Judge Les Spittle told Jones: "One of the features of your case is that on each occasion that you were arrested and bailed you continued to offend. It seems to me there is no realistic and viable alternative, it has got to be custody."

Jones, of Northern Road, Bishop Auckland, was jailed for three years after admitting supplying and possession with intent to supply, plus six months recall to prison from his last sentence for burglaries.