A TEENAGER who was caught with a bag of heroin and told police he thought it was cannabis has been spared jail.

Kayne Armes, 16, was given a supervision order yesterday after a judge said the case were so unusual that he did not need to be jailed.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the teenager had been given a package to look after by a friend minutes before he was arrested.

Police officers spotted Armes with two friends on bikes in the Gresham area of Middlesbrough on January 23.

The officers saw an exchange take place and the two other youths rode off, leaving Armes alone.

The teenager refused to hand over the jacket to police, but was searched at a police station.

Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said officers found a bag containing three smaller packages of brown powder, which was later found to be heroin.

Armes refused to tell police what was in the bag, but later claimed he thought it was cannabis and it was for his own use.

John Gillette, mitigating, said: "This is the most technical of guilty pleas."

The court heard that Armes had two convictions - the first when he was only 11 - for motoring offences but none for drugs.

Mr Gillette said: "But in interview he candidly admitted he has used cannabis for some time.

"He was sharing some can-nabis and was given a bag to hold, never anticipating he would have it for more than a few minutes.

"He was under the complete misapprehension that it contained a Class C drug rather than a Class A drug.

"This is an exceptionally unusual case involving a youth who has drifted into an area of law completely unknowingly."

Armes, of Wilton Street, Middlesbrough, admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

He was ordered to undergo 18 months of supervision and observe a 9pm to 7am curfew for six months.

The judge, Recorder Peter Collier, told him: "The offence you have committed usually results in people going to prison, but there are unusual circumstances."