A MAN who was found in possession of drugs when his car was stopped by police in Oswestry has avoided immediate custody.

Officers recovered cocaine and cannabis resin with an estimated street value of more than £1,000 was found in Kieran Bott's vehicle.

During the search in August, 2017, officers also found £420 in cash.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court 23-year-old Bott was given a four month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Judge Anthony Lowe told Bott he was "sailing very close to the wind" as he was already subject to a suspended sentence for other matters.

Bott, of Smale Rise, Oswestry, had admitted two offences of possession of controlled drugs and an offence of possession of criminal property.

The court heard he had previous convictions for possession of cannabis and driving whilst disqualified.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said that the defendant was a banned driver and when the was searched drugs were found on the floor, along with a number of mobile phones and a cannabis grinder.

"Some cash was found in the door pocket and some drugs found underneath the steering wheel. This led to the defendant's home address being searched where police found further drugs paraphernalia with quite a large amount of cannabis," he said.

Mr Jones told the court that there was no forensic evidence showing that the defendant was involved in dealing drugs.

At the time Bott was said to have been a heavy drug user and was said to have been making a living by gambling and selling cars.

Brendan Reedy, for Bott, said his client had "very foolishly" used the car to see his girlfriend who was having their baby that day.

"He ended up in custody and was someone who had a somewhat chaotic existence," he added.