A commercial dealer who was supplying " bubble" to fund his own use of the drug, has been locked up for six months.

Adrian Cottam, 25, had been found with 57 grams of drugs worth more than £500, when police raided his then home in Padiham, on December 15, 2010.

Included in the haul were three Class C drugs, which he used as cutting agents for the mephedrone. Officers seized two telephones, which revealed text messages indicative of supplying "over some considerable time," Burnley Crown Court heard.

Cottam, of Hillside Avenue, Burnley, admitting possessing class B drug mephedrone, 1-benzylpiperazine, 1-benzyl-4-methylpiperazine and 1-(trifluoromethylphenyl) piperazine, with intent to supply.

Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, said police executed a search warrant at the defendant's house.

He was present and volunteered he had some drugs, which he said were his, in a laundry basket upstairs.

Officers discovered two bags, one containing 5.73 grams of mephedrone, mixed with some of the three class C drugs, a larger, 50 gram bag of the same mixture of the four drugs and a very small amount of bubble under the floor boards upstairs.

The drugs would be worth about £570.

Miss Dacre added the defendant made no comment when questioned, but had now accepted he was going to supply the drugs stash.

Richard Taylor, for Cottam, said he became involved in using mephedrone when it was a "legal high".

He accepted he supplied some to a relatively close knit band of friends so he could continue to use the drug himself. He no longer took mephedrone.

Mr Taylor said the defendant had now turned his life around. He had been offered work for Preston Council, to start on March 5.

The solicitor continued: "He is a hard working young man who made a significant mistake."

Sentencing, Recorder Maurice Greene said Cottam had had a "not insignificant" amount of drugs and had been involved for some time.

The judge continued: "It's clear to me you were playing a significant role in drug dealing. You had been involved in supply for some time, on certainly partly a commercial basis, albeit to fund your own habit."