A DEALER caught with hundreds of pounds worth of drugs outside a college was last night starting a six-month prison sentence.

Kyle Banks denied selling ketamine and said he simply supplied friends with the tranquilliser.

There were text messages on his mobile phone asking for the drug and his handset was constantly ringing when police arrested him.

Banks, 22, did not turn up for a court hearing last month, and when officers went to his home they found three wraps of cocaine.

He admitted charges of possessing Class A drugs and possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, and failing to surrender to custody.

His lawyer Kieran Raniey urged Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, to consider a suspended jail sentence and "put him on trust".

Mr Rainey said Banks had got clean in a month in prison on remand, and was keen to overcome long-standing problems with substances.

"He is desperate to avoid a custodial sentence," he told Teesside Crown Court. "He is willing to undergo any testing in the community.

"The length of time he has had in custody has increased his motivation. He feels if he remains in prison he will succumb to temptation.

"He says drugs are prevalent in prison, and wants to get away from that. He has had a month to reflect and it has allowed him to detox."

Judge Bourne-Arton told Banks, of Fifth Avenue, Colburn, : "If you have motivation, you can continue with that after your release."

Prosecutor Nigel Soppitt told the court how Banks's car was seen outside the Catterick campus of Darlington College in September.

When he was arrested, he threw away a yellow plastic egg capsule which contained 19 wraps of ketamine worth between £380 and £570.

He told officers he was not at the campus to sell drugs to students, but he parked up when his car had run out of petrol."