A “VULNERABLE” man was threatened with an axe after he quit dealing drugs, a court heard.

Daniel Wayne Tansey, 20, admitted dealing cannabis but claimed he had been working for another man who held an axe to his throat after he revealed he wanted to stop.

Tansey, who suffers from attention deficit disorder, was arrested after police found several envelopes full of cannabis at his Darlington home earlier this month.

He told officers he made £20 profit from selling each one, but that he worked on behalf of an unnamed dealer who made £300 a day.

Hari Jandoo, prosecuting, told Darlington magistrates that Tansey, of Corporation Road, made £1,800 profit over three months while the dealer made more than £27,000.

Tansey – who told police officers it was a “relief” to be caught - admitted possession with intent to supply a class B drug.

Leanne Galbraith, mitigating, said: “He is a 20-year-old with ADHD who is quite vulnerable and easily led. He was put under pressure by others and is quite naive.

“A more sophisticated offender has seen him as a person who could be exploited.

"Since he stopped, he has been approached by the same person who asked him to deal again. When he said no, that person held an axe to his throat and that is the kind of pressure he has been under.”

The case has been adjourned until Thursday for probation reports. Tansey was granted unconditional bail.