A MODEL who was caught dealing cannabis after a routine traffic stop has been spared prison and warned by a judge: “I don’t want to see you again”.

Matthew Newcombe, 21, was pulled over by police officers in Colchester High Street in June 2020 during a traffic operation.

Ipswich Crown Court heard the officers could smell cannabis and so conducted a search.

They found a small amount of cannabis, as well as an iPhone and £265 in cash. The phone was found to contain messages concerning the supply of drugs to users.

Newcombe, of Blackbrook Road, Great Horkesley, admitted one count of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

He denied one count of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and the charge was left to lie on file by the court.

The court heard Newcombe had already received a disqualification in January last year for drug driving during the same incident.

But in October last year, he was handed a suspended prison sentence for failing to provide a specimen for analysis, driving whilst disqualified and driving whilst uninsured.

Steven Dyble, mitigating, said his client “undoubtedly” has a good prospect of being rehabilitated after abiding by the terms of his suspended sentence.

“That sentence is a living example of how the defendant can comply with community orders,” he said.

Mr Dyble said Newcombe has a job waiting for him should he avoid immediate custody, adding his client supplements his income with a career in modelling.

“This is at a very early stage, but that’s where his ambitions lie,” he said.

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Recorder Gabrielle Posner said: “The court always regards offences concerning the supply of drugs seriously because of the misery that drugs can bring to people’s lives.”

She said because of the “positive recommendations” he had received, the impact of custody upon his partner and his young age, she felt able to suspend a prison sentence.

“I hope there is a still a choice and a chance for you to have a better life,” she said.

But she warned Newcombe: “I don’t want to see you again, I really don’t.”

Newcombe was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years and a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He was ordered to do 120 hours’ unpaid work.