Teen cannabis dealer claimed £500 cash stash was from a bumper Universal Credit payment

A teenage cannabis dealer who was "caught red-handed" later tried to pretend to the police that a stash of £500 cash that was found on him came from a bumper "double payment" of his Universal Credit benefit.

Lorenz Hall had "met a lot of very undesirable people" while he was growing up and he was hoping to make enough money from selling cannabis on the streets to pay for his own addiction, Hull Crown Court heard.

Hall, 18, of Bourne Street, Hull city centre, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and possessing cocaine on August 2.

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Michael Masson, prosecuting, said that police were alerted to a badly damaged car in George Street, Hull, at about 1.15am. There were three people on the scene, among them Hall, who was on a bicycle.

He was chased for a short distance and he was detained. He had cannabis, cash and two mobile phones with him. He lived at premises in Bourne Street.

A search of the property was carried out and three wraps of cocaine, two bags of herbal cannabis and three more larger bags of cannabis were found. The estimated street value was about £260. Hall had £500 cash on him.

During police interview, he gave mainly no comment replies to questions. He claimed that the cash was from a double payment of Universal Credit. Hall had convictions for seven previous offences, including being given a conditional discharge in September 2022 for possessing cannabis.

Steven Garth, mitigating, said that Hall was a naive young man, who was easily led. He was unemployed, had no dependants and was living in a hostel.

He had spent about one-and-a-half months in custody and it had been a "terrible experience" for him. "It has brought him to his senses and taught him a lesson," said Mr Garth.

"He knows what will happen if he gets into trouble again. He is adamant that he will never appear before the courts again."

During his younger days, Hall "met a lot of very undesirable people" while he was growing up and he was in care. "As a result of that, he got himself into a bit of trouble and it also introduced him to drugs," said Mr Garth.

"At the time of his arrest, he was using cannabis and, when the police went to search his flat, he had a very small amount of cocaine and he had started to experiment with that. It was a pattern that everyone around him was following."

Hall was selling small amounts of cannabis to fund his own habit. It was relatively minor and unsophisticated offending. "The idea was to raise enough money to buy his own cannabis," said Mr Garth.

"He was caught red-handed. He regrets getting involved in this offending and regrets getting involved with drugs. He is truly remorseful and he is looking forward to a bright future."

Hall was given an eight-month suspended custodial sentence and 15 days' rehabilitation.