A scrap man whose cocaine habit got out of hand turned to drug-dealing to pay off his debts - and got caught out on his first day.
Rudy Young used the drug as a way to cope after the breakdown of his 16-year marriage, a court heard. But he fell into debt and was being threatened, LancsLive reports.
In January last year, the 35-year-old hatched a plan to start dealing drugs himself but was caught out after police spotted him on the first attempt. The court was told how he 'wasn't very unsuccessful'.
READ MORE: Dealer found in 'drugs workshop'... just SIX DAYS after release on bail following 100mph chase
Young was spotted by officers in Blackpool on January 20. Police saw a car which had stopped on Ryedale Avenue, with a pedestrian leaning in through the window.
Officers believed a drug deal had taken place and stopped the vehicle in Grasmere Road. Young, of Chapel Road Residential Site, Blackpool, identified himself to police who searched his vehicle.
In the car they found a number of snap bags containing white powder, two mobile phones and £450 cash. Text messages on one of the phones relating to drug dealing activity, , Claire Larton, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court.
Julie Taylor, defending, said Young had been a recreational cocaine user until the end of his 16 year marriage, when he began using more of the drug as a way to cope. He ran up significant debts and was being threatened, fearing repercussions for his family or business.
Young agreed to sell drugs to clear his debts and was given a mobile phone to take orders. "He wasn't very successful", Ms Taylor said. "He got caught on the very first day."
Young pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs. The court heard he has no previous convictions and only two cautions.
Judge Simon Medland QC, sentencing, said: "You are plainly a resourceful person because you set up your own business as a licenced scrap metal merchant. You have a relationship and you want to do well in the world.
"Your problem arose inevitably because you began to take cocaine, which is a destructive, an addictive and an expensive substance. Those who take it inevitably can't afford it, and you end up being trapped up in a cycle of your own causing, where you are brought into contact with those who are serious criminals who want you to do their work.
"My message that class A drugs destroy people's lives is one I am sure you agree with. They destroy people's health and wellbeing, they destroy people's social stability. All those things they have done to you."
The judge said the case was so serious it crossed the custody threshold but accepted Young had no previous convictions and had faced a lengthy delay in the case getting to court. He also spent time on an electronically monitored curfew and co-operated with the Probation Service to prepare a pre-sentence report.
Judge Medland QC handed Young a two year sentence suspended for two years and ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
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