A depressed father who sold balloons filled with nitrous oxide at the Kendal Calling Music festival in Cumbria told a judge he did not know his actions were illegal.

Philip Drew, 33, had so much of the gas that he could have made a profit of more than £760, Carlisle's Rickergate magistrates court heard today.

He was selling the gas-filled balloons to festival-goers for £3 a piece, said prosecutor John Moran.

The defendant, of St Vincent Street, South Shields, admitted suppyling the psychoactive substance - known as laughing gas; and to possessing it.

He committed the offences on July 29.

Addressing District Judge Gerald Chalk, Drew said he had been going through a bad time and was low on cash.

Asked if he knew supplying the gas was illegal, he said: "No, I didn't."

Drew said he had been depressed and was worried about the impact of the case on his relationship with his daughter.

Noting that selling the drug became illegal just two months before the festival, Judge Chalk said he accepted the defendant's explanation and would not impose a jail term for the offence.

Instead, he imposed a 12 month community order, with a requirement to do 60 hours of unpaid work, along with £85 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of the same amount.

The court heard that Drew was a man of previous good character, and had no previous convictions.