A DOPEY drug dealer was said to have been "the author of his own downfall" after text messages he wrote ended up nailing and jailing him.

Benjamin Strickley sent out "adverts" for his cannabis and ecstasy from his mobile phone, just a fortnight after dodging prison for possessing pot.

The texts provided a price list for the drugs and in further messages the 24-year-old boasted to customers about the size of the hauls he held.

Other than the damning evidence on the handset, all police had on Strickley was a small "rock" and a bag of cannabis they found in his car.

His barrister, Victoria Lamballe, told a judge at Teesside Crown Court: "The defendant was quite literally the author of his own downfall.

"But for the content of those text messages, it would have been possession... no more drugs have been recovered other than the modest amounts.

"The sending of such blatant messages perhaps points to a naivety in the defendant that is rarely found in the most hardened of drug dealers.

"While they appear boastful, it was perhaps an attempt to paint his operation more impressive than it actually was. The messages were compelling."

The court heard how police found the drugs when they stopped Strickley in his car in Redcar, east Cleveland, and noticed a strong smell of cannabis.

Prosecutor Sue Jacobs said: "His mobile telephone was seized and interrogated, and there were text messages, essentially an advert, sent out."

Strickley, of Back Lane, Skelton, east Cleveland, admitted possessing Class A and Class B drugs with intent to supply as well as separate driving offences.

The court heard that he tried to flee from police in his father's car after he had been drinking in August last year, and was over the legal limit.

The judge, Recorder Felicity Davies, jailed him for 40 months for the drug offences at the end of 2013, and a further ten weeks for the driving.

He admitted driving without insurance, dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol - 65mcg in 100ml of breath when the limit is 35mcgs.

The judge said: "It is said that the text messages were the only evidence, and the content may have in fact inflated the appearance of your dealing. There was no sign of cash to a lavish lifestyle."

As well as the three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, Strickley – who was convicted of possessing cannabis 12 days before he was caught again – was banned from the roads for three years.