A man was forced into dealing cocaine on the streets in order to pay back his own debt.

Police officers on patrol in Barnoldswick on September 15, 2022, noticed a male acting suspiciously near a blue vehicle in West Close Road.

The officers left their unmarked car to go and speak with the male, who made off at speed.

Once stopped, he identified himself as Joshua Burford, 29, and consented to a search where he was found with 20 snap bags of white powder, two mobile phones, and around £260 in cash.

A house search was later conducted but no items were located to support onward supply.

The value of the cocaine was estimated to be £1,240.

Messages found on one of Burford’s phones indicated street dealing, along with lists on the Notes app showing people’s names and amounts next to them.

Ellie Watson, in mitigation, said the messages showed how desperate Burford was to get money to pay off his debt, and he was told by those he owed money to the only way to pay the debt was to supply cocaine.

She said her client knew this “should never happened and will never happen again.”

Ms Watson described Burford as a hard-working individual and said this “completely out of character behaviour” stemmed from a build-up of difficult situations.

Burford pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply cocaine at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court in April.

Recorder Sophie Cartwright sentenced Burford to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

He must also complete 10 rehabilitation activity days and 200 hours of unpaid work.