A NIGHTCLUBBER caught with 51 Ecstasy tablets was jailed for 18 months yesterday.

Jonathan Chapman, 21, insisted the drugs were for his own use and denied being a dealer - although he said he might have loaned some to friends.

Chapman said he bought 60 tablets from his regular supplier but was given too many and was in the process of handing some back when he was seen by doormen at Club M, in Yarm, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Chapman's home was later searched by police who found another five Ecstasy tablets, £400 in cash and a pepper spray described as a personal protection canister.

Chapman, of Friarage Mount, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was convicted by a jury of possession with intent to supply Ecstasy and pleaded guilty to a charge of possession.