Spared jail for dealing

NICHOLAS DODD

A SPICE dealer who was caught peddling in Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens was spared jail after a judge heard he has five children to look after.

Nicholas Dodd (27), of Edge Lane, Oldham, was handed a suspended sentence when his defence team argued he was 'remorseful', now has a settled home and youngsters to care for.

Dodd was caught selling Spice in broad daylight in an area plagued by the drug in recent times. He was, however, banned from Manchester city centre for two years.

He risks jail if he enters the area bordered by Manchester's inner ring road at any point in the next two years.

In recent months, dealers in the Piccadilly Gardens area have switched from selling cannabis to Spice - cashing in on a surge in black market demand among the homeless.

Spice was designed as a legal drug which would mimic the effects of cannabis. It is known to induce unpredictable reactions in users - from violence to zombie-like states. But its cheap potency has made it popular inside jails and with people begging on the streets of the city centre.

A Manchester Crown Court sentencing heard Dodd had 36g of Spice on him when police spotted him acting suspiciously among a group of rough sleepers at 12.30pm on a Saturday.

When he was searched he was found to have 10 snapbags of the drug in a 'manbag', and a small quantity of cannabis for personal use. He later admitted possessing Spice with intent to supply and possessing cannabis.

He was spared jail after telling court he had turned his life around since the September 17 offence and had five children to look after.

Dodd says he was homeless himself and had been 'intimidated' by others into selling it.

Sentencing, Judge Jinder Singh Boora said offences like these called for 'deterrent' sentences, although he accepted that Dodd was 'remorseful' and had been 'vulnerable' at the time.

The judge added: "I'm told you now have five children in your care. That means I need to be very careful before passing a sentence of custody."

Judge Boora handed him a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a three-month curfew.