A former City broker who got hooked on drugs after losing his job, became a runner to pay crack cocaine debts.

Mark Robinson, 26, of The Lees, Faringdon, pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court to two counts of possessing heroin with intent to supply. He had earlier admitted supplying heroin.

The court heard Robinson had a promising career until the age of 21, working for a brokers in the City of London and taking an accountancy course.

Nigel Daly, defending, said Robinson had been earning £19,000 a year and 'the future looked bright for him'. But he was made redundant and worked in the city on a number of short-term contracts but found it difficult to get work.

Mr Daly told the court: "He began to get rather despairing of his possibility for future employment. He was hanging around cafes and video arcades and met up with the sort of people that hang around such arcades and got caught up in the drugs scene."

Mr Daly told the court that in April 1997 Robinson was asked by a 'friend' to look after some crack cocaine.

He said: "By the time the friend came back he had consumed £1,000 of it. He couldn't pay the money back and began receiving threats. He tried to get away by moving to Oxfordshire." While attending an appointment with the drug rehabilitation Libra Project in Oxford he met someone who knew the 'friend', who then asked for the cash he was owed. Mr Daly said: "He had no way of paying it. The only option open to him was to go and work for this man delivering drugs. In this way his debt would be lessened and he was being provided with drugs for his own use."

Mr Daly added that the 'friend' gave Robinson the money for a hire car which he used to deliver drugs.

Gerard Quirke, prosecut- ing, said: "On the 5th of May this year at about half past midday observations were begun on Mr Robinson. He visited various locations in the countryside in a hired car.

"He pulled into Cumnor Hill interchange, jumped out of the vehicle, picked from the verge an item and put one down. Shortly after, an item on the grass verge was found - a Ribena bottle with a plastic bag containing heroin."

Mr Quirke said in May this year Robinson was tailed by police to Bagley Wood Road in Kennington, where he left a parked in a lay-by before leaving something under a concrete slab.

He said: "Police looked under the concrete slab and found a Malteser sweet box containing a plastic bag with a number of small bags. There were13 wraps of heroin. Robinson was stopped that evening and a total of 16 wraps of heroin were seized worth between £440 and £470. He had £659.20 on him in cash.

The company from which he hired the car reported that he had begun using it the previous year and had paid a total of £2,068. The company said all bills were paid in cash.

The Recorder, Mr Carl Gaskell, said: "Those who involve themselves in the trafficking of drugs, particularly Class A drugs, involve themselves in a pernicious trade because it leads to misery and degradation and you yourself have experienced some of that because you have been an addict.

"I deal with you on the basis that you were a runner for someone else but that doesn't make it any less serious because you were supplying to eventual users."

Mr Gaskell put Robinson on probation for three years and ordered him to attend a strict drug rehabilitation programme.

He told Robinson: "You're a very lucky man. You could well have been facing a very hefty sentence of imprisonment in the order of three years. If you don't take advantage of this rehabilitation centre you will be brought back here - and you know what to expect, don't you?"

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