A drug dealer caught with over £2,000-worth of cannabis at his mother's house has been spared prison after he swore off drugs as a New Year's resolution.

Tommy Taylor, 21, of Layters End in Chalfont St Peter, was given a suspended sentence after he admitted to two counts of dealing cannabis at Amersham Law Courts on Friday.

The court heard how in April 2019, when he was just 17 years old, a police raid of his home in Layters End uncovered 283 grams of cannabis - with a street value of £2,700.

Officers searching the property, where Taylor lived with his mother and other family members, also seized £2,280 in criminal cash, as well as a small quantity of cocaine.

Other drug paraphernalia, including mobile phones, scales and deal bags, were also recovered.

Messages on the phones indicated that Taylor was involved in street and mid-level drug dealing.

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The court heard from prosecutor Jack Wright how on November 18, 2021, at the age of 21, Taylor was pulled over in a white Volkswagen Golf smelling of cannabis.

A police search revealed three golf ball-sized bags of cannabis, worth an estimated £90, along with £1,615 in cash.

Mr Wright told the court that Taylor was still on police bail for the first offence when he was pulled over.

The prosecutor added: "He played a significant role given the cash that was found he gained a significant financial advantage."

Following this arrest, Taylor pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply cannabis.

In mitigation, the court heard how Taylor had moved on from his drug dealing past and was trying to change his life for the better.

Defence counsel Neil Jarvis said: "Since these offences, he's begun to rethink himself. He cut his dealings with cannabis.

"It was his New Year's resolution in January 2021 to stop smoking cannabis and not be in the cannabis world, and he has kept that resolution.

"He's trying to make positive changes in his life, he's hoping to be in work as a plasterer's labourer.

"At this stage in his still young life, he wants to seize the chance to show he is a different man."

Opting not to send Taylor to custody, Recorder Simon Dyer QC gave Taylor a 12-month sentence suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Sentencing Taylor, Recorded Dyer said: "You are still a young man, you were an even younger man when you got involved in dealing drugs.

"You were caught red-handed with £2,700-worth of cannabis in 2019, it's clear the premises were involved heavily in your drug dealing.

"You committed the second offence while you were on bail for the first, you were cocking a snook at the court's authority.

"Your youth gives the court some hope of rehabilitation, you don't get youth as a personal mitigation much further into your 20s."