A Bolton teenager called police on himself after becoming concerned over a drug debt.

On April 9, 2021, police were called after reports of a man by the name of Adam threatening occupants of a vehicle with a knife near Adam Brown’s address, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Police attended and found Brown, who matched the description.

No knife was found, but a small amount of cannabis within a pink bag and two mobile phones were found, the court was told.

Brown, who was aged 17 at the time, then invited police into his home.

When in Brown’s bedroom, police found a large amount of cannabis, some of which was in pink packaging, alongside an unspecified quantity of money.

He was found to have had 552g of cannabis, which had an estimated street value of just more than £5,500.

Brown was arrested and exercised his right to silence in a police interview, the court heard.

Prosecuting, Paul Treble said it was "clear this man’s phone was more indicative of a drug user than a drug seller", with the evidence showing Brown had a "lesser role" in the chain.

Brown was said to have called police on himself after becoming concerned over a drug debt of £100.

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The judge, Recorder Anna Pope, asked Brown, who was defending himself, to offer mitigation in his defence.

Speaking from the dock, Brown, now aged 20 and with no previous convictions, said he had made the call to police himself "to get it out" after becoming paranoid about having the drugs in his mother’s home, fearing his house was being watched.

He added that he had recently moved back to his mother’s home after getting a new job as a business consultant, and that he had been continually working since the incident.

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Summarising, Recorder Pope said she would take the fact Brown, of Little Rushes Close, Little Lever, had made the call to police as neither an aggravating nor mitigating factor in her sentence.

She added that Brown was clearly “normally a hard-working man” with a “difficult upbringing”, and that he had been out of work at the time of the offence, and that there was no evidence he had any influence on anybody above him in the chain.

Recorder Pope concluded Brown’s young age, remorse, and his guilty plea were the best mitigation.

He was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days after admitting possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.

A proceeds of crime hearing will take place on July 11.

Speaking to The Bolton News outside court, Brown said he had "put himself" in the situation, and that he had represented himself due to costs.

He said: “I’m working and I’ve got family, so I thought I couldn’t afford legal representation, so I took it out for myself.”

Brown said he had been offered legal aid at the time of the offence, but that he became ineligible after gaining employment.

Asked if he thought this was right, Brown added: “I mean not really, no, but it is what it is – you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Giving his thoughts on the sentence, Brown added: “A community sentence is better than a suspended sentence or even being sentenced to prison, so...”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.