A LONG-TERM drug user from Carlisle who was caught with heroin worth more than £10,000 has been jailed.

Malcolm John Nicholson, 35, who has previously been to prison for drug dealing, was caught when police stopped and searched him moments after he walked out of his Hawick Street home in the city, Carlisle Crown Court was told.

The defendant admitted possessing the class A drug with intent to supply.

Brendan Burke, prosecuting, said the offence came to light on November 27 last year at 1.45pm when police decided to search the defendant because his behaviour was suspicious.

"He volunteered while the search was going on that he had a couple of ounces [of drugs] on him," said Mr Burke.

"And that turned out to be right."

At Nicholson's home, the officers found a 5oz bag of heroin and another bag with half an ounce of the same drug.

The total value of all the heroin he had - both on his person and in his home - was just over £10,000.

Kate Barnes, for Nicholson, said: "His explanation for being involved in this enterprise is that he himself had a drugs debt of some significance.

"He was prevailed upon to become involved.

"What is slightly unusual is that these were relatively large bags of heroin."

When stopped, he was in the process of passing on the large bags to somebody else and he was not himself street dealing, added the barrister. Passing sentence, Recorder Neville Biddle told the defendant: "You have a long record, reflecting drug abuse over many years. I hope it's time for you to address that and indeed stop abusing drugs."

The judge imposed a total sentence of 32 months prison.