A REFORMING drug addict avoided jail after a judge heard he was helping others cope with their addictions.
Lee Winship, 27, was told he had come perilously close to prison after attacking a woman in a health centre.
He attacked the woman as she attended a methadone treatment session in Lawson Street, Stockton, on March 18, putting her in a headlock as he tried to grab her prescription.
He later told police he had just been messing about
Winship, 27, of Wren Street, Stockton, admitted affray and was given a three-year community rehabilitation order at Teesside Crown Court.
The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, told him he had been saved from a spell behind bars by a letter from anti-drugs charity boss Martin Gibson, describing his work with other addicts.
Stephen Constantine, for Winship, said he was now trying to put something back into the community.
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