A TEENAGER who was caught with a bag of cocaine by police has been spared jail by a judge.

Kiel Johnson, 18, told officers he had paid £1,000 in cash for the drug - a quarter of which was for his friend.

Teesside Crown Court was told that Johnson, of Green Head, Fir Tree, Crook, had developed a cocaine habit, which he funded with a compensation payout he won after being in a road accident as a child.

David Wilkinson, prosecuting, said Johnson was in St Mary's Close, Crook, on October 18, last year, when he was stopped by police who searched him for drugs.

He handed over a plastic bag containing white powder and said he had been a cocaine user for six months.

Richard Bennett, for Johnson, said that although some of the drug was for a friend, there was no suggestion that he was a street dealer who was seeking to make money.

Johnson was involved in an accident when he was 11, which had resulted in the death of his best friend. This had a serious impact on him, said Mr Bennett

He said: "He is a rather stupid and nave young man who does realise the seriousness of this situation."

Johnson, who pleaded guilty to the possession of 26.5g of cocaine with intent to supply, asked for a further offence of possessing cannabis to be taken into account.

Judge Tony Briggs gave Johnson a two-year rehabilitation order and ordered him to carry out 100 hours community service, while paying £414 costs.

He said that although he had risked prison, he had taken into account the unusual way in which he paid for the drug and his guilty plea.