A teenager exploited by a County Lines gang selling Class A drugs in Swindon hopes to put his past behind him.

Thabiso Cele appeared at Swindon Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Experienced criminals recruited the 20-year-old from Dydale Road when he was 16, two years after he had travelled to the UK from South Africa with his mother and younger brother, and then put him to work as a runner for the Sunny Drugs network for approximately one year.

Judge Jason Taylor KC had intended to give Cele a suspended 20-month prison sentence but, after hearing of the defendant’s vulnerability, attempts to distance himself from criminality, and positive reference from an employer, took the exceptional step of letting him avoid jail entirely.

Matthew Scott, defending, said: “He may not have been very street-aware and was an absolute prime candidate for exploitation by those more criminally sophisticated.

"He got £20 here and there for doing other people’s dirty work. He managed to break away from this organisation of his own volition.

“He is hoping to go to college to renew his education, he is a very intelligent and hardworking young man and has a bright future ahead of him.

“His mother says she was surprised that something like this was going on and was not fully aware of what [her son] was involved in but she is determined to keep him on the straight and narrow and he himself is determined not to go back into the drugs world.”

Steven Molloy, prosecuting, explained that Cele was one of several people who had appeared in court for their involvement in the Sunny County Line and that police had found evidence of the drugs and contacts involved in it after raiding a co-defendant’s address.

Cele is the last person to be sentenced in connection with this drug network, which the son of a Swindon taxi driver managed.

Judge Taylor said: “You were relieved to be caught because you felt trapped in the situation you found yourself in, and you have expressed genuine remorse.

“You were involved through pressure and intimidation from others. I do not wish to jeopardise your future prospects any more than I need to.

“I’m relatively confident that you will put this behind you and not come before the criminal courts again."

Cele received an 18-month community order that requires him to carry out 175 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days.