OFFICERS got a surprise when they checked the contents of a chocolate egg recovered during a house raid.

For the Kinder egg dropped by 32-year-old Ernest Walker as officers burst into his home was found to contain 20 wraps of heroin, Durham Crown Court was told.

Chris Prince, prosecuting, said the heroin contained in the wraps weighed 2.12 grammes, with an estimated street value at about £200.

Walker was also holding a further four wraps, each containing a small amount of the class A drug, during last October's raid.

When asked about the heroin, he said several of the wraps were for his own use and "some were for others".

The court heard that Walker, of Glenhurst Road, Easington Colliery, County Durham, has previous drug-related convictions.

Brian Russell, for Walker, said it was a case of "limited dealing to maintain his own drug supply".

But, since the raid, he was trying to kick his drug habit, and had undergone assessment for a drug testing and treatment order organised through the probation service.

"Not only is he motivated to get on to this programme, but he's done something about it," said Mr Russell.

Walker, who admitted possession and possession with intent to supply a class A drug, was ordered to undergo a 12-month treatment and testing programme.

But Judge Guy Whitburn warned him he faced prison "as a direct alternative", if he offended again.

Judge Whitburn told Walker: "You have a bad record for drug convictions.

"With your record you could expect at least two-and-a-half years in prison, but the direct alternative is this order."

The judge also ordered the confiscation and destruction of the drugs seized during the raid.