A MAN who admitted he earned £120 a week by selling cannabis to a dozen locals escaped immediate jail yesterday, because he told the truth.

Judge Jonathan Crabtree told York Crown Court the "astonishing frankness" of Robert Haithwaite, 30, had enabled him to defer sentence until August when he would consider an alternative to prison if the accused had behaved.

Haithwaite, of Ailcey Road, Ripon, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and possessing cannabis for his own use. He admitted to using the drug since he was 16-years-old.

Deborah Steele, prosecuting, said Haithwaite volunteered information to the police that for over three months he was supplying a dozen people in Ripon with cannabis, and that it earned him £120 a week.

She said £475 cash was found at his home, and the judge ordered that it be confiscated and given to the police to help in their fight against drugs.

Alex Bates, representing Haithwaite, said that without his information police would have had a very thin case.

Judge Crabtree told Haithwaite: "You have been around drugs sufficiently long enough to know the risks of dealing.

"It is usually met with immediate custody, but you have been astonishingly frank and have told police what was going on."