A TEENAGER was found with ecstasy tablets when his friend's car was pulled over for a routine police check, a court heard yesterday.

The youth, 17, was found to have several of the tablets with him, and a police search of his home later that night revealed he had 12 in total, as well as a quantity of cannabis and the drug MDMA.

Darlington Youth Court was told that the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted the drugs were his, but insisted they were only for personal use.

The boy was caught with the drugs by police on the night of November 30 last year, when his friend's Vauxhall Corsa was pulled over for having a defect with a rear light.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said when police looked in the car they found a baseball bat, so decided to search it further.

"They searched the vehicle and the persons in it, and found that the defendant had with him what was suspected of being controlled drugs," she said.

"A house search was carried out and more controlled drugs were found. There was an amount of cannabis in a set of drawers in the defendant's bedroom, and three white tablets were found under a footstool."

Jane Scott, in mitigation, said the defendant's drugs were solely for personal use, and were purchased shortly before he was found with them.

"The quantity of drugs he was found with would have lasted him approximately one month," he said.

"We are not dealing with a young man using a large amount of drugs on a regular basis. He does take ecstasy tablets on most weekends, which is obviously an issue of some concern to the court."

Sentencing was adjourned for pre-sentence reports to be prepared, and he will reappear before Darlington magistrates on Friday, April 7.