A MAN who 'warehoused' hard drugs at his home was told by a judge that his personal circumstances could not protect him from being immediately jailed.

David Hanley, 25, from Marton Burn Road, Middlesbrough, was said to have a good work record, no related previous convictions and was also caring for a young family.

But Judge Peter Bowers ignored pleas to suspend a prison sentence on him and instead jailed him immediately for 18 months.

The judge told the defendant: “Class A drugs are a pernicious scourge in this area, particularly among young people.”

Prosecuting, at Teesside Crown Court, Rachel Masters said police found 57 grams of crack cocaine, worth more than £5,700, and 116 grams of cannabis skunk, worth £1,160, at the home in Middlesbrough where Hanley was living after executing a search warrant there on April 29 last year.

He told police he had been asked to mind the drugs and was said to be in debt to a dealer.

John Gillette, for Hanley, who admitted possession of class A and B drugs with intent to supply, said he had stopped taking drugs and also described him as an “industrious young man”.

Mr Gillette also warned of the knock-on effect jailing Hanley would have on his partner and young family and asked for a suspended prison sentence.

But Judge Bowers failed to oblige, instead telling the defendant that he would keep any jail sentence as short as possible.