A cocaine dealer plagued by health problems brought on by taking the drug was told by a judge: "You could so easily have killed yourself."

Judge Peter Hughes QC made the observation as he handed down a four-year jail sentence to 32-year-old Colin Neale.

Neale was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court having admitted supplying the class A drug to others during the early months of 2015.

He also admitted possessing both cannabis and diazepam, and also a knuckleduster, all on May 4, 2015.

The court heard that Neale was seen by police on that date inside a vehicle which was parked in a lay-by at Bassenthwaite.

Officers approached and he was arrested, making an unsuccessful attempt to toss away the knuckleduster as he was apprehended.

Two packages of high purity cocaine - almost 13g worth - were recovered. A mobile phone was seized and analysis revealed that Neale had been dealing to others between late January and early May last year.

Neale continued to deny, however, that he had been peddling the drug. That was until the day he was due to face trial when he changed his plea to guilty.

Greg Hoare, mitigating, said Neale, of Grasslot, Maryport, had been ravaged by serious health problems as a result of his drugs misuse.

Neale had seriously damaged his heart and also his nasal septum. This had cost him his job as an HGV driver and, as a result, he fell into debt. This prompted him to start dealing cocaine.

Sentencing, Judge Hughes told him: "You are a living example of why drugs such as cocaine are so dangerous.

"It is only through the skill of the surgeons that you are able to live a reasonably normal life.

"You could so easily have killed yourself."

Judge Hughes said it was plain from text traffic that Neale had been dealing during the three-month period before his arrest.

However, the judge noted that Neale had a limited criminal record and was dealing to a relatively small circle of people.