A CANVEY drug dealer has avoided jail after a court heard he had turned to cocaine use and dealing after losing work during the pandemic.

Samuel Leggett was arrested following a police raid at a residential property in Mornington Crescent, Canvey, on February 20.

Officers found the 32-year-old to be in possession of small quantities of cannabis, £19,860 cash, nine wraps containing 0.4 grams of cocaine and two mobile phones.

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An examination of the messages on the phones, revealed Leggett had been involved in dealing cannabis, prosecutor James Lachkovic told the court.

However, prosecutors accepted the cocaine which had been discovered had been for “personal use,” with Mr Lachkovic adding Leggett had “began to sell comparatively small amounts to fund his use of cocaine”.

Leggett’s defence counsel argued he had fallen into using cocaine as a result of the “stress and anxiety” of losing work during the pandemic.

Leggett has finished training as a fire suppression engineer just before the onset of Covid-19.

His work, which saw instal fire safety systems in hotels, pubs, bars and other leisure businesses, was put on a hold by Covid lockdowns.

His defence counsel said: “He accepts what he did was wrong. But the small amount of drugs found by police had been present for his use.

“As the country came out of furlough, not being able to work was hard and in times of anxiety and stress, such as the lockdown period, his use increased.”

Judge Samantha Cohen accepted he had played a “lesser role” in the sale of cocaine, telling the court: “Primarily you were selling cannabis and using the money from making that to buy cocaine for yourself and then you became involved in selling small quantities to people who you were also selling cannabis too.”

Leggett, of North Avenue, Canvey, pleaded guilty to possessing a controlled drug of class A with intent, being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of class A, possessing a controlled drug of class B with intent, and being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of class B to another at an earlier hearing at the same court.

He was sentenced 22 months in jail, suspended for 22 months and ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid community work and 50 days of rehabilitation sessions.