A cannabis addict has been prosecuted after police got a tip off claiming he supplied the drug to a 15-year-old girl.

Carlisle's Rickergate Magistrates' Court heard that Martin David Frizzel, 24, had taken to selling the Class B drug because he needed to fund his own addication.

But the defendant denied ever giving cannabis to the teenager.

In court, Frizzel, of Red Bank Square, Carlisle, admitted possessing the drug with intent to supply.

Prosecutor Peter Bardsley said police raided an address in Morpeth Close, Brampton, on March 30, after the parent of a 15 year old girl rang up to say that Frizzel had supplied the drug to the teenager.

When police officers arrived at the house, they found tupperware boxes containing 7.5g of cannabis, split into packets, each of which contained an ounce of the drug.

It was worth £80.

"Mr Frizzel was interviewed and he admitted supplying cannabis to his friends. He said he had lost his job in January and since then he had been dealing to feed his addiction to cannabis.

"He supplied it to between 5 and 10 people.

"He used about 2g of cannabis every day.It was purely to fund his own cannabis use."

Frizzel told police that his partner had nothing to do with selling the drug and that he always delivered the cannabis himself.

He said there was no way that the girl would have gone to Morpeth Close to buy cannabis from him.

His last criminal conviction was for an offence of affray in 2013.

Rachel Dixon, for Frizzel, said the defendant now had two jobs and he had been to his doctor to help him overcome his cannabis addiction.

A Probation Service worker in court confirmed that the defendant wanted help to beat his cannabis habit.

Magistrates imposed a 12 month community order with a requirement that Frizzel completes 100 hours of unpaid work in the community as well as 10 days of rehabilitation activity.

He must also pay an £85 victim surcharge, and costs of £85.