A county lines drug dealer who admitted selling heroin and crack-cocaine on the streets of Skegness was spared jail after a judge accepted he was being coerced.

Andre Stewart, 25, was caught with two golf ball-sized packages of heroin and a block of crack-cocaine after police executed a search warrant at his mother's home in Birmingham.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Stewart confessed to selling heroin and crack-cocaine in Skegness after being put under pressure to pay off a drug debt to a criminal higher up the chain.

Stewart co-operated with police during the raid on 30 June, telling officers "I will tell you where the stuff is. It is in the drawers upstairs."

placeholder image — Lincoln Crown Court.

Stewart's phone was seized and found to contain a drugs line with 10,000 messages relating to dealing, the court was told. Snap bags containing herbal cannabis which Stewart admitted using himself were also discovered.

During interview Stewart admitted to dealing Class A drugs on the streets of Skegness after being told he owed £7,000 to a man called 'Nemo'.

Stewart, of Destiny Road, Birmingham, admitted two charges of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, and one count of possessing a Class B drug.

Anna Soubry, mitigating, said Stewart was supported in court by his family and urged the judge to pass a suspended sentence.

"He has been brought up not to do things like this and has let his family down," Miss Soubry explained.

Miss Soubry told the court Stewart accrued a debt to the man called Nemo after previously working on the trains.

"He was under pressure and behaved in this way," Miss Soubry added.

Passing sentence Recorder Nicholas Bacon KC told Stewart he could not have complained if he had received an immediate jail sentence.

But Recorder Bacon added: "You are a youngster, you have got your whole life ahead of you and this moment is your crossroads. You clearly have a supportive mother and father. Please don't reoffend."

Stewart was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years. He must also complete 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days and obey electronic monitoring for three months.

Lincolnshire Police officers worked alongside The Metropolitan Police’s County Lines Taskforce Op Orochi to carry out eight days of targeted enforcement, leading to the closure of five drug lines.

Warrants were carried out between Tuesday, June 23 and Wednesday, July 8 across Skegness and Grantham, as well as one in Birmingham.

Ten men were arrested, nine of whom have been charged with drug-related offences. Officers also seized significant quantities of suspected cocaine, heroin and cannabis and cash during the disruption.