A DRUG dealer who sold cannabis, rather than work, has been jailed for a year and 12 weeks.

Aaron Maynard had just been put on a suspended sentence for theft when police stumbled upon him trying to hide his stock of skunk.

But after hearing the 30-year-old had a poor record for complying with community orders a judge at Swindon Crown Court said he had no option but to jail him.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said police looking for burglars in Freshbrook on the evening of Wednesday, October 7, spotted Maynard in the area.

When he was first seen in the Edington Close area he had a bag over his shoulder but when officers went to speak to him it had gone.

"They were suspicious he had got rid of the bag he had over his shoulder. They went into a block of flats he had come out of," he said.

They realised his uncle lived there and in his flat they found the bag he had been carrying, which contained 36g of cannabis.

"His phone was seized and it contained a number of text messages consistent with the offer for sale and supply of cannabis," said Mr Meeke.

"And it is pretty clear that that is what it was: a stock in trade of someone who the Crown accepts is a low level supplier of cannabis. A low level street dealer."

He said the drugs were worth between £150 and £220 and he also had £100 in cash on him.

Maynard, of Pendennis, Freshbrook, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

The court heard that in July last year he was put on a 12 week jail term, suspended for a year, for the theft of two bicycles.

Rob Ross, defending, said: "This is a man who, for a very, very, long period of time has had an addiction to skunk cannabis.

"Her did, for many years, have a class A drug problem. He managed to get on a programme about five years ago."

In the five years since he said he had got his methadone use down from 160ml to just 3ml but substituted heroin with cannabis.

"As night follows day he ended up in October last year selling to a small number of friends," he said.

"The download of the phone shows he was dealing 10 bags to a small number of people, between five and ten people at a time.

"The police are accepting that this was what I would call low level commercial supply. By doing it he was able to pay for his own large habit."

He said since his arrest he had managed to cut down his own use of drugs and hoped to have the help of probation.

Jailing him Recorder Gordon Bebb QC said: "You frequently fail to comply with the terms of a community order.

"It appears you don't work, you sell cannabis for profit to fund your cannabis habit and you are therefore in my judgement a low level street dealer. The value of the drugs was relatively low but you were street dealing."