A SMALL-TIME dealer who claimed he was selling cannabis to pay off a debt to a person higher up the chain has narrowly avoided jail.

Marcus White, 22, from Middlesbrough, was given a suspended prison sentence even though the judge refused to believe his story.

Recorder Rodney Jameson, QC, said the father-to-be never told police during his interview that he was dealing to clear the near-£1,000 debt.

The tale emerged in a report from the Probation Service as White appeared at Teesside Crown Court to be sentenced for three offences.

He admitted possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, the simple possession ofClass B drugs and possessing criminal property worth £720.

After his arrest on November 12 last year, White initially told police the money was from a Ford Fiesta car he sold on an internet auction site.

Yesterday, his lawyer, Andrew Teate, told the court that White ran up the debt through his own cannabis use and was recruited to repay the cash.

The defendant was invited by Mr Recorder Jameson to go into the witness box to give evidence about his questionable account, but chose not to.

The court heard that White was arrested in Ayresome Green Lane, Middlesbrough, after police stopped him in his sister's Audi A4.

A small amount of cannabis and £120 was recovered, but more drugs, worth more than £800, and £600 in cash was later found at his home.

Mr Teate said: "He says he was forced into dealing by people he owed the debt to.

"He isn't prepared to say who this person is for fear of reprisals."

The judge adjourned the hearing while White was asked to consider giving evidence, after saying: "It is very difficult for me to believe any of this."

MrTeate saidWhite started using cannabis to deal with the strains of his parents' separation and later sold only to eight like-minded friends.

He told Mr Recorder Jameson that White had stopped taking drugs since his arrest, and his girlfriend was expecting twins, the couple's first children.

White, of Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with supervision and unpaid work.

"I regard you as fortunate not to be serving a sentence immediately, " the judge told him.

"I hope you can put this behind you and look after your children."