A PAIR of cannabis dealers were unmasked when police pulled over their car – as one of its lights was out.

When they went to speak to driver Kyle Knight and front seat passenger Zak Coombs the officers could smell cannabis coming from the car, Swindon Crown Court heard.

Knight, 24, had no drugs on him – while Coombs was found with a small amount of amphetamines.

Prosecutor Gary Venturi said the car was searched, with police finding 60g of cannabis and a total of £1,215 cash – although around £600-worth of this was said to be birthday money given to Coombs by his mum.

Messages on the boys’ phones pointed to them having dealt cannabis for around a month, starting in early December 2019.

Coombs, 19, who had to be taken to hospital by ambulance after the traffic stop as he had a bad reaction to drugs he’d taken, admitted dealing drugs when he was later interviewed by police. He said he’d accrued a £2,000 cannabis debt and began selling the class B drug in order to pay off the money owed and fund his own habit.

Knight was interviewed on the day he was stopped – January 12 – and answered no comment to all questions put.

Mitigating for Coombs, David Scutt said his client had since given up smoking cannabis and had broken off ties with an old group of friends who had encouraged his previous lifestyle. “As he put it himself, ‘everyone smokes weed in Calne’. I’m sure that’s not quite right,” the barrister said. His mum had paid £1,500 of her own money to wipe the debt to her son’s dealer.

Tony Bignall, for Knight, suggested the young man’s mental health may have suffered after losing his job as a delivery driver. Although he had not stopped taking cannabis entirely, he had not come to the attention of police since January. He was described by a probation officer as “extremely honest”.

Both men were said by their lawyers to be young and remorseful.

Coombs, of Atcherley Road, Calne, admitted possession with intent to supply cannabis and possession of amphetamines. Knight, of Martin Way, Calne, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class B drugs.

Judge Jason Taylor QC sentenced Coombs to a year’s imprisonment suspended for 18 months and ordered he complete 20 rehabilitation activity days, 175 hours of unpaid work and pay £475 costs. Knight received eight months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months with 25 rehabilitation activity days, 36 hours at an attendance centre and 125 hours of unpaid work.

The judge told them: “You are young men who made mistakes. Don’t be defined by your mistakes. Hopefully this court will never see you again.”