A FORMER Denbigh man, who started smoking cannabis when he was “10 or 11” was found with nearly £700 worth of cannabis at his home.

Lee Perry, aged 34, of Victoria Road, Buckley, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and possessing a prohibited weapon, a canister of pepper spray, and was jailed for a year.

Perry claimed he had been selling cannabis to friends to fund his own addiction.

Prosecutor Maria Masselis, told Mold Crown Court that police executed a search warrant at Perry’s previous address in Denbigh on March 31 last year and found cannabis worth a street value of £692, scales and a mobile phone which proved he had been selling the drug.

Sion ap Mihangel, defending, said: “He is a very heavy user of cannabis.”

Judge Rhys Rowlands commented: “It seems he started at the age of 10 or 11.”

The spray canister he had found in a Deeside skip when he was working for a skip company, said Mr ap Mihangel, and had been taken out of curiosity.

He had “stored it away” in his home and it had never been used. Perry did not know it was even a prohibitive weapon, he said.

All his problems related to his use of cannabis and he realised he had to break his addiction.

Judge Rhys Rowlands told Perry he accepted he was an “industrious man” with a good work record and had pleaded guilty. He also accepted he had had a difficult childhood and had started taking cannabis at a very early age.

But he added: “Your involvement in supplying cannabis for a second time is a serious matter.”

He sentenced Perry to 12 months in jail.