A TEENAGER found to be carrying a bag of ecstasy tablets when searched by police has been spared jail.

Robert Richardson, 18, of Woodville Avenue, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, had a bag of 48 ecstasy tablets in his pocket, with a street value of £240.

After stopping him in the street in Middlesbrough on June 30 last year, police also seized £87 and a mobile phone from Richardson, which held the message "bring some pills for JD".

Richardson told police on his arrest that he had found the pills on some waste land and had agreed to sell them to a friend as a one-off.

He admitted possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply.

Yvonne Taylor, mitigating, told Teesside Crown Court that Richardson was now spending his time more fruitfully, rather than just being on the streets.

Judge Peter Armstrong said he would sentence him on the basis that this had been a "foolish escapade".

Richardson was given a two-year supervision order and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work in the community