by Keith Hunt

A drug user caught dealing in cannabis has escaped a jail sentence after a judge said there was a more constructive way of punishing him.

Nicholas Bishop was given a community order with supervision for 18 months and drug rehabilitation for 12 months. He will also be under a curfew from 8pm to 7am for four months.

Judge Philip Statman said he would not pass a suspended sentence because with Bishop's chronic addiction to cannabis "as night follows day it would be setting you up to fail".

But if the 24-year-old did return to dealing, he said, his hands would not be tied in imposing imprisonment longer than a year.

Anne Phillips, prosecuting, said police raided Bishop's home in Watling Place, Sittingbourne, on December 16 last year.

He admitted having drugs and pointed to a sports bag in the sitting room. It contained 453 grammes of skunk cannabis and 22 grammes of cannabis resin.

Mrs Phillips said text messages on Bishop's mobile phone indicated dealing.

He was released on bail but on May 3 he was caught with 27 packets of cannabis worth about £300 while a passenger in his mother Jenny's car.

Told that Bishop was charged with "simple possession", Judge Statman commented: "Extraordinary. Twenty-seven packs while on bail? What is going on with the charging process?"

Bishop admitted possessing drugs with intent to supply and possession.

The judge accepted Bishop was at the bottom of the chain, supplying drugs to friends for a couple of months to finance his own habit.

"I have put you down in the cells," he said. "No doubt, you have had a chance to look around. I hope you did not find the experience a pleasant one.

"You are on the cusp of going to prison for 12 months. Is there a more constructive way of dealing with you? I take the view there is."

The judge said he wanted the public to understand why he had taken such a course.

"You have to decide whether you want to be a useful member of society or go to prison for a number of years," he added.

Bishop's 49-year-old mother was at an earlier hearing given a conditional discharge after admitting possessing 3.87 grammes of cannabis.