A COUNTY line dealer found with a phone which sent out 6,500 drug marketing texts in two months has “exceptionally” avoided time in prison after suffering a serious head wound.

Euan Davis, 25, was found to be carrying the phone after he was arrested for an unrelated matter in February.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard the phone had previously housed a SIM card used to send out messages advertising the sale of class A drugs.

Richard Potts, prosecuting, said the phone was linked to the ‘Anonymous’ drugs line.

He said: “It shows during the period of November 2020 to January 11, almost 6,500 text messages were sent out to contacts, the majority of them being bulk marketing messages, averaging about 124 messages a day.”

Read more>>>Drug dealer 'went through personality change after he was stabbed'

Davis, from Clacton, admitted possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine.

During a previous hearing, Barry Gilbert, mitigating, said his client had committed the offences after he was “press ganged” into selling drugs to support a debt he accrued from taking drugs himself.

He said his client had been stabbed in the head while leaving a gym in March, leading to a complete personality change and severe health issues.

Judge Christopher Morgan said Davis had no previous convictions for supplying class A drugs.

He said: “You are on the one hand the perpetrator of violence, that is clear from the conviction in your past.

“On the other hand, you are now a victim of the violence that goes hand in hand with drug dealing.

“The injury that you suffered is a significant one from the material I have read and you will no doubt suffer the consequences for a significant period of time.”

He said he was willing to take the “exceptional” step of suspending a two year prison sentence for two years.

Davis must complete a mental health treatment requirement, consisting of 12 sessions, alongside a drug rehabilitation requirement.