A CANNABIS dealer has been spared jail after making thousands of pounds in profit from selling the drug.

Aaron Mcellin was arrested after police raided the house where he was staying on April 16 last year with his partner and three-year-old child.

“Entry was forced and the defendant was found upstairs asleep,” Anna Bond, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court.

Mcellin admitted there were drugs in the property and officers discovered 468.7g of cannabis, in various packaging, along with a small amount of cocaine, a bag containing £620, scales and seven mobile phones.

“The defendant admitted that the cannabis was his and that he had been selling it to his friend to fund his own habit for the past three months,” said Miss Bond.

Mcellin, aged 22, of Coniston Avenue, Farnworth, admitted that he had made, in total, a profit of up to £6,480.

Mcellin, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

The court heard that, in a pre-sentence report, Mcellin claimed he had been pressurised by somebody else into storing and supplying the drugs, but Jane Miller, defending, said this is incorrect.

“He is quite a vulnerable young man and he has listened to advice from others as how to present himself best for the purposes of sentence. He sought to minimise his role,” she added.

She said that Mcellin has being diagnosed with PTSD as a result of a violent and neglectful childhood.

Judge Tom Gilbart commented that Mcellin has made changes to his life and behaviour over the last years and sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

“I am satisfied that there is strong personal mitigation and there is a good prospect of rehabilitation,” said Judge Gilbart.

As part of his sentence Mcellin must participate in 25 days of rehabilitation activities and six months of a mental health treatment programme.