THE husband of a senior nurse who lectures prisoners about the dangers of drugs has escaped jail after being caught with a cocaine stash.

Brian Magnus, 54, admitted he and three friends chipped in £200 each to get a better deal buying more than 38g of the class A drug.

He hid it from his unsuspecting wife behind a radiator at their Washington home.

His secret was uncovered when a driver stopped by police claimed to be him and gave officers his name and address.

They searched the couple's home in Western Moor, Blackfell, on October 16, last year, and found the drugs, which have a street value of £2,300.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the arrest had caused Magnus's wife "acute embarrassment".

Michael Graham, prosecuting, said: "He bought the drugs for himself and three friends who he refuses to name.

"He never sold drugs but sometimes took cocaine."

Robin Patton, mitigating, said: "They got the drugs cheaper by chipping in together to buy a large amount.

"It was supply that was happening within a small and discreet group of four people who really should have known better."

The court heard Magnus, a former shipyard worker who quit with an industrial injury, had a previous, unnamed criminal conviction in 1978.

Judge Esmond Faulks told Magnus, who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, that it was an "exceptional" case and spared him jail.

Magnus was given a 100- hour community punishment order and ordered to pay £800 costs.