A CANNABIS supplier has been spared a trip to jail because it took two years to put him before a court.

Alexander Ross Taylor, 20, had enough of the drug to fetch more than £1,300 in street deals, said James Howard, for the CPS, at York Crown Court.

The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, said North Yorkshire Police had had everything they needed to charge Taylor when they arrested him.

"It didn't get to court for two years," he said. "Just because of the age (of the case) it is not right to send him away."

York Crown Court heard no explanation for the delay.

North Yorkshire Police can charge a defendant without consulting with the CPS or it can submit a file to the CPS for a decision on whether to charge.

Taylor, of East Parade, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply it to others.

He was given a 12-month community order with a three-month curfew, confining him to his home address every night from 8pm to 7am.

"You are going to have to stay in whilst everyone is having a good time over Christmas," the judge told him.

Mr Howard said police visited Taylor's then home in Harrogate on July 25, 2019, in connection with an unrelated matter.

They searched the building and he told them he had some cannabis.

They found three small bags containing the illegal drug and one large one with 134.25g of cannabis in it. They also found a set of scales.

A police drugs expert estimated that if the contents of the large bag had been sold in £10 deals, it would have raised £1,340.

Taylor did not answer questions when interviewed by police. His first court appearance was Spring this year.

The prosecution accepted Taylor's guilty plea on the basis that he only supplied the drug on a social basis.

Mr Howard said there was no text messages on Taylor's phone about drug supply.

Taylor has 22 previous convictions, but none for supplying or possessing drugs with intent to supply. He has two convictions for possessing cannabis and a police caution for possessing heroin.

Defence barrister Danielle Graham showed letters from Horizons, a North Yorkshire drug rehabilitation organisation operating in Harrogate, and social services.

After reading them and interviewing Taylor, the probation officer said that he was making "very good progress" in tackling his drug addiction.

He no longer took cannabis and was reducing his methadone prescription.

He didn't need help from the probation service, she said.

Ms Graham said Taylor had changed his attitude to life following the birth of his child and had shown determination in his efforts to beat his addiction.