AN addict was caught with hundreds of pounds worth of amphetamine in his freezer just weeks after he had been questioned and bailed for drugs.

Kenneth Worley had been stopped on his bike in Darlington town centre at the end of May and police found two wraps of the Class B paste on him.

A search of the 39-year-old's home uncovered two syringes filled with a liquid form of amphetamine, prosecutor Sue Jacobs told Teesside Crown Court.

Worley was freed on bail after being quizzed, but his arrest in mid-July for an entirely different matter led to the discovery in the freezer.

As he was being checked in at a police station, he was strip-searched - because of a history of hiding drugs on his body - and a package was found.

Detectives then combed his home and found two bags of paste weighing a total of almost 60g and worth £760 in the ice compartment, said Mrs Jacobs.

Worley, of Victoria Road, Darlington, admitted two charges of possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, and was jailed for ten months.

Judge George Moorhouse told him: "You know from your own experience what effect drugs have on people. That's why it's a very serious offence."

The court heard how unemployed Worley has 123 offences on his 20-year record and has been jailed in the past for drug trafficking crimes.

His lawyer, Ben Pegman, said his client would spend his fortnightly benefits on buying amphetamine in bulk, take most of it and sell the remainder.

"Mr Worley would contend he made absolutely no money from whatever deal he struck," said Mr Pegman. "He would reinvest it to buy amphetamine for himself.

"It clearly is a bad record. He accepts that and accepts that the previous possession with intent to supply convictions will aggravate matters.

"He turns 40 next week, and his difficulties come from the break-up of a relationship. He turned to amphetamine, and since then he has been a user."

The court heard how the father-of-two spent three days in hospital following a heart attack after his last court date, because of his drug addiction.

Mr Pegman said: "He was told in no uncertain terms that if his amphetamine use continues, he is in real, real danger of an untimely end.

"That wasn't lost on him. His period in custody (on remand since his arrest) has allowed him to reflect on that and desist from amphetamine use."