A TEENAGE drug dealer who was "out of his depth" in the criminal world leapt from his car to try and evade police capture.

Javan Simpson's escape attempts following the police chase in Basildon proved futile after officers caught him 50 yards away from his ditched car.

The then 18-year-old had been chased by police in Upper Mayne, Basildon which saw him race into a car park before jumping out and sprinting away, leaving the keys in the ignition.

After he was caught, police searched him and found a small amount of cocaine on him.

Inside the car was a Nokia "burner" phone plus about £245 in cash, which was seized.

Simpson's home address in Larkshall Road, London was then raided by police where a bag of cannabis was found.

The Nokia phone was found to contain messages advertising and selling drugs, and tests showed that Simpson's DNA was on the SIM card, linking him to the operation.

Simpson, now aged 20, went on to admit being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and possession of Class B drugs and was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court.

Mitigating, Manveer Cheema said that Simpson had been "ashamed" of his drug use at the time and did not go to his family for help in paying off his drug debts.

He said: "He confirmed at the time of the offences he developed an addiction due to those he was associating with.

"He was given drugs in credit and at the age of 17 he had a drug debt of £1,500 which he couldn't pay back.

"When that payment was demanded he felt he couldn't talk to his family about it due to the nature of the debt.

"He felt depressed and felt he had no alternative at the time.

"He felt his family would not be safe."

Mr Cheema said Simpson has turned his life around since the incident on August 29, 2019 and was now drug free and works as a delivery driver.

Judge Andrew Hurst told Simpson that his drug dealing was "not an answer" to paying off debt.

He said: "People have paid back their dealers but also to society and get locked up for a long period of time."

He gave Simpson two years detention suspended for 18 months with 30 days rehabilitation and 200 hours of unpaid work.