Dealer wants to stay on 'straight and narrow'

A MAN who says he started dealing to pay off his own drug debt says he wants to stay on the “straight and narrow”.

- By POPPY KENNEDY

Lance Rushton was stopped by police officers after he was caught on CCTV dealing crack cocaine in Middlesbrough. When told he would be searched at the police station, the 30-year-old took off his hat causing four small grip seal bags to fall to the floor before asking “have you got to arrest me?”

Rushton admitted one count of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine.

Cole Cockburn, prosecuting, outlined how a police officer using CCTV saw Rushton appear to make an exchange with another man on March 13. Police approached him on the street but he made off on a pedal bike. The next day, CCTV operatives notified officers after Rushton was seen in a back alley off Corporation Road.