A man who allowed his flat to be used for the trade in heroin and crack cocaine has been spared an immediate jail term.

Stephen Fuller let two Londoners use his Westlea home as a base for peddling drugs a few months after other dealers had been staying with him.

When police checked up on the 40-year-old they found the two 'dealers' in the flat along with eight-and-a-half grams of hard drugs wrapped up in street deals.

But after hearing the long term user had been put under pressure to allow them to stay and was now off drugs a judge impose a suspended sentence.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court because of the previous incident, which didn't lead to him being prosecuted, police went to his home last July.

"It was, on the face of it, a welfare check as he has previously been the target of drug dealers, London drug dealers, who came to his flat and used it as a base for their nefarious trade," he said.

When officers went to the house they found two men there, who deny being involved in the drugs trade, as well as 57 street deals of heroin and crack.

Mr Meeke said telephone evidence linked the defendant with the Londoners and his DNA was also on some of the wrappings.

The court heard that the men accused of dealing had also sent out messages telling local users they knew Fuller.

Mr Meeke said that as a user within the drugs community, he is known to others and there is a degree of trust between addicts.

"This meant the cuckoos in the nest had a racing start at this rather than coming in cold," he said.

Fuller, of Thornford Drive, Westlea, pleaded guilty to allowing his premises to be used for the supply of drugs.

Rob Ross, defending, said that his client had admitted to what he had been doing from an early stage and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He told the judge "You, like me, have been doing this for a long time and will know that there are those who are vulnerable in community who are there to be leaned on.

"While he has a record it is apparent for a period of time he was quite badly addicted to drugs.

"He has been drug free for some time now, but it has left him with a number of difficulties. He is someone in receipt of Disability Living Allowance."

He said that he had been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a seven-year-old and was paid nothing by the men for using his home.

Passing sentence Judge Peter Blair QC said "I have a recollection of a case about a year ago where no action was taken by the police to a person in a situation like this.

"It seems that was certainly a shot across your bows when you had that situation in February 2015.

"Then we had you in July, some five months after that, again hosting these people from out of town who were supplying from your premises."

He imposed a six month jail term suspended for 18 months and put him on a two month curfew and told him to do 10 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.