A man arrested in a Bradford city centre bus shelter after taking Spice to “cheer himself up” has been conditionally discharged.

Warren Bonfield’s 21 pages of previous convictions included nothing for drugs offences for ten years, Bradford Crown Court was told today.

He hadn’t been in any trouble at all since 2018 when he was seen behaving suspiciously outside the Oastler Shopping Centre in John Street on September 11 last year.

Bonfield, 53, of Norwood Avenue, Shipley, pleaded guilty to simple possession of MDMB, a synthetic cannabinoid Spice-type Class B drug, and possession of 16 capsules of the Class C drug Gabapentin Neurontin.

His not guilty plea to supplying the Spice was accepted by the Crown.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson said that police officers arrested Bonfield in a bus shelter after he was seen behaving suspiciously.

He handed over a bag of Spice and the capsules were in his possession as well.

Bonfield, who represented himself in court, was asked by Judge Neil Davey QC if he wanted an adjournment for a report from the probation service.

“With your track record, without being discourteous, you’ll know what a pre-sentence report is,” Judge Davey told him.

Bonfield said he wanted to be dealt with straight away. He had been feeling bad that day and hoped the Spice would cheer him up.

“It was just a stupid act. I was having a smoke in town and I got caught with it,” he said.

Judge Davey said that Bonfield had “an unenviable record” but had kept out of trouble since then.

In 2011, he was jailed for supplying heroin and crack cocaine but the current offences were the only ones committed since then.

Bonfield was sentenced to a conditional discharge for nine months.