An amphetamine dealer caught with 16 bags of the drug, digital scales and a dealer phone under the bed at his Bradford apartment has been jailed for six months.

Nathaniel Thomas, 24, was relocated as a vulnerable person and housed in supported accommodation, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

When the police raided his flat and seized the Class B drugs, his tenancy was immediately terminated. He was locked out of the apartment and told where to collect his clothes, prosecutor Camille Morland said.

But he broke back into the accommodation, doing £350 damage, and took his possessions, including a scooter.

Miss Morland said Thomas, now homeless, was arrested at an address in Aberdeen Place in Great Horton.

He told the police he was forced to sell amphetamine 24 hours a day.

Thomas was remanded in custody and sentenced on a video link to HMP Bedford.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at the magistrates’ court to possession with intent to supply amphetamine, between June 21 and 23, simple possession of cannabis and criminal damage.

In his basis of plea, he claimed he was under pressure to sell the drugs and bought the scooter while working as a labourer in Bradford.

His barrister, Victoria Smith-Swain, said he was moved to West Yorkshire from Bedfordshire because he was considered to be a vulnerable young man at risk of exploitation.

He had been held in custody on remand for almost three months, the equivalent of serving a six-month prison sentence.

Thomas’s use of cannabis had led him into difficulty and he had been addressing that while awaiting sentence.

Recorder Tahir Khan KC said Thomas had recent convictions but no long history of crim-inality.

He had been caught dealing amphetamine and then damaged the door at the supported accommodation by breaking in to get back his possessions.

Recorder Khan conceded that Thomas was a vulnerable person who became involved with drug trafficking reluctantly, but said he must have been doing it for some sort of financial reward.

He had pleaded guilty to all the offences and was entitled to significant credit.

Thomas was jailed for a total of six months, which will mean that he is released from prison very soon.

Recorder Khan revoked an earlier community order and told Thomas he was giving him the opportunity to get his life back in order.