A CANNABIS dealer from Burnley has been offered a fresh start at his father’s restaurant in London after being spared a jail sentence.

Defence counsel for Mohammed Sikander told Burnley Crown Court that he had become embroiled in the drugs trade after becoming a heavy user of the drug.

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But Judith McCullough, for Sikander, said his family had come up with a plan to offer him a ‘fresh start’ at a gourmet restaurant which his father was intending to open in London.

“They accept that he has done wrong but the family, and the defendant, want to put him back on the right path,” she added.

Ms McCullough told the court her client had not sought to minimise his role in cannabis dealing and accepted he had done it for financial gain.

Sikander, of Colne Road, admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply and was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 12 months probation supervision.

Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said police were investigating Sikander over other allegations when they found a cannabis wrap in his pocket on December 9. A further search of his home then revealed 37 wraps of cannabis bush concealed in a larger bag.