A drug dealer caught with an axe and a knuckle duster in his car has been spared an immediate jail sentence because he is trying to turning his life around.

Brendan Horner, 22, was with friends smoking cannabis while parked in Parsonage Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford, last December 9.

Police smelt the drug and seized the weapons and wraps of cannabis worth up to £230.

Horner, of Concrete Street, Halifax, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of the knuckle duster, possession of a bladed article and being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

He told the police the long-handled axe had been overlooked after a camping trip. He was selling cannabis to fund his £350 a week addiction.

Horner’s solicitor, Alistair Bateman, said he would be caring for his seriously ill father when he came out of hospital. He was attending a drugs help centre and had cut back on his habit.

Horner was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 250 hours of unpaid work and a three-month curfew order.