A low-level street dealer has been given a suspended sentence to prove that he can stay out of trouble.

Christopher Robson was caught with 19 wraps of heroin when police pulled him over when he was driving his car in a suspicious manner.

Teesside Crown Court heard how his nervous disposition then led police to carry out a search of the vehicle where they discovered the Class A drugs.

Uzma Khan, prosecuting, said text messages were also found on his mobile phone relating to drug dealing activities.

She added: “His record, quite frankly, is appalling. There is such an array of offences on his record.”

However, she accepted none of them were for drug-dealing related offences.

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Robson, of Nolan House, Stockton, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a Class A drug following his arrest in November 2019.

Tom Bennett, in mitigation, said his client had managed to keep out of trouble for several years before two deaths in his family led to him re-offending.

He added: “He does have an extensive record of previous convictions but it will suggest that he is trying as he has got older to stay on the straight and narrow.”

Judge Jonathan Carroll branded the defendant a 'low-level street dealer' as he sentenced the 46-year-old to two-years in custody, suspended for two-years before warning him it was a one-off opportunity to stay out of trouble or face an immediate prison sentence.

He added: “When you were a young man, you were well entrenched in the criminal lifestyle but to your credit, in your recent years since 2015 you have committed no other offence at all.

“You have demonstrated that you are capable of living a non-criminal lifestyle.”

Robson was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

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