A HEROIN user was caught shooting up in a car as his young son sat in the back of the vehicle.

Bolton magistrates heard how police spotted a car, with 38-year-old Ryan Heap in the driver’s seat, parked in Snipe Street, Great Lever, on November 25 last year and approached it.

Richard Greenhough, prosecuting, said: “They noticed that he had a cord wrapped around his right arm and that he was holding a syringe.

“The defendant was sat barefoot at the time.”

Mr Greenhough said that Heap admitted that the syringe contained heroin and there was also a small wrap of the drug.

“The matter is aggravated by the fact that the defendant’s two-year-old son was sat in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle,” said Mr Greenhough.

He added that, when caught by police, Heap had been struggling to find a vein to inject into, so there was no drug in his system.

Heap, of Crescent Road, Great Lever, was arrested for possessing a Class A drug and subsequently pleaded guilty to committing the offence.

The court heard that Heap has 16 convictions for 23 offences, but non since 2014.

A pre-sentence report produced about Heap by the probation service was presented to magistrates.

Senior probation officer Mandy Bailey said: “He wants to convey, through me, that he feels ashamed and disgusted by the way in which he was arrested.

“It isn’t lost on the defendant at all, the seriousness by which this offence will be taken by the court, particularly that his young child was in the back of the car at the time of his arrest.”

She added that Bolton children’s services are involved with the family and are “impressed” with the progress made by Heap since his arrest.

Mrs Bailey added that, prior to the offence Heap had been under pressure with employment problems and bereavement.

“On the day of the offence he encountered somebody who he knows from his former life when he was a more heavy drug user,” she said.

“This was the first time he has chosen to use illicit drugs for a number of years and the moment got the better of him.

“He totally regrets his decision making.” Heap is now having drug treatment.

Magistrates fined Heap £50 plus £175 in costs and charges and ordered him to participate in 20 days of rehabilitation activities as part of a six month community sentence.

Chairman of the bench, Manu Mistry told him: “This particular incident is nasty for the fact that there was a child involved.

“It is a no no situation and you really need to get your life back in order.”