A man caught with cannabis stashed down his trousers has avoided an immediate jail term.

Appearing for sentence at the Court of General Gaol Delivery, Neil Clarke, 20, was handed a six-month jail term, suspended for two years. He was also made subject to a two-year supervision order.

Clarke was ‘shaking uncontrollably’ and smelling of cannabis when he was spotted by police in a back lane off Bucks Road, Douglas, at just before 8pm on June 1 this year.

He told officers: ‘I’ve got some cash in my pocket, that’s all.’

Clarke was taken to police headquarters, where a search found nine plastic wraps of the class B drug in the groin area of his trousers.

The total amount found was 8.4 grams valued by police at £168. He initially told police that the drugs were for his own personal use.

Clarke, of South Quay, Douglas, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

In a statement given to police, Clarke claimed he was told to collect the cannabis by another person, who he refused to name, and that he had been afraid to say no.

He said he had been under duress for around four years now and that the people pressuring him would pull up in cars and look for him.

His case was committed by the summary court for sentencing at the Court of General Gaol Delivery.

Deemster Graeme Cook handed him a suspended sentence and described him as a ‘young man who has clearly lost his way’ but was ‘not without hope of getting back onto the right path’.