A DRUG addict purchased morphine tablets on the black market after losing his own prescription when knocked off his bike.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Edward Robert Howard had only used the tablets to tide him over until his next prescription was available.

Howard, 37, of Mearley Brook Fold, Clitheroe, pleaded guilty to possession of morphine and cannabis.

He was fined £120 with £55 costs and given a conditional discharge for six months.

David Hartley, prosecuting, said the drugs were discovered when police executed a search warrant at Howard's home. He admitted buying them from a back street dealer in Burnley.

Graham Parkinson, defending, said Howard had a long-standing drug problem for which he was receiving treatment.

He collected his prescription three times a week and it was on one of these occasions that he lost his morphine ampoules.

"One of his options was to purchase a substitute on the black market," said Mr Parkinson.