A DRUG dealer who was caught selling class A drugs in a Salisbury nightclub last year thanked the judge as he was sent to prison.

William Whitehead, 20, of no fixed address in Salisbury, was convicted of possessing a knife in a public place and possession of a class A drug with intent to supply on May 19.

On Friday, a judge at Salisbury Crown Court jailed him for two years and three months.

Prosecuting, Simon Edwards said just before midnight on November 20 last year, security staff at the Chapel Nightclub became aware that "there were two sets of feet in one of the cubicles in the gents' lavatories".

Whitehead was found in the middle of a drug deal and later told staff he had eight plastic wraps of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, that he was planning to sell. He also had a three-inch knife hidden in his sock.

The court heart Whitehead had no previous convictions until last year, when he was arrested for selling cannabis and assaulting a police officer.

He received a six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.

Defending, Nicholas Cotter said Whitehead owed a drug debt that he was paying back by selling MDMA, which he was addicted to.

Mr Cotter said Whitehead "is a young man who has rather buried his head in the sand, but he is a young man of some intelligence".

Whitehead told police he had the knife to prevent others from stealing the money he had "garnered from others" to pay off his drug debt, and Mr Cotter said: "There was no intention to use it and no intention to harm."

A pre-sentence report from the probation service said Whitehead "lacked motivation to deal with his difficulties".

But Mr Cotter disagreed, and asked a probation officer who was in the court to carry out her own report to see if Whitehead would be suitable for drug rehabilitation treatment instead of prison.

Judge Parkes agreed to the request, adding: "I'm always open to the possibility that someone can turn a corner, especially someone as young as him."

But the probation worker who did the second report told the court said Whitehead was a "very conflicted young man".

She said he was using drugs "24/7" and "up to ten joints of cannabis a day" as well as other drugs.

The officer said Whitehead was "very motivated to get a job, but he then went on to say there were certain jobs he couldn't do because of low levels of pay".

She said: "I do feel he's very genuine in his desire to change, the question is whether there's an ability to do so."

But Judge Parkes asked: "If I went down this route, would I just be setting him up to fail, I wonder?"

The probation worker said it was a "very, very difficult call to make".

The Judge asked if Whitehead had anywhere to live if he was released today but Mr Cotter said he would be "at the mercy of his friends".

Judge Parkes said: "All I can hope is that perhaps in custody he will get the help and stability he needs."

Addressing Whithead, he said: "You don't need to be told what a sad position you are in. You're a young man of 20 who did very well in school and should have gone to university.

"You have, on the face of it, the motivation to break out of your problems, but we all understand it's one thing to say you want to do and and it's another to have the courage and determination to do it.

"It seems to me that if I gave you a suspended sentence now I would be setting you up to fail. On this occasion it's probably best that you go to prison.

"You are very young, you are quite young enough to start again."

Judge Parkes sentenced Whitehead to a total of two years and three months in prison for the two offences and the breach of his previous suspended sentence.

He said: "I hope you will get clean and come out and face the world in a happier situation than you currently are.

"Don't think that your life is written off because you have gone to prison, it most certainly is not, not at your age."

Whitehead thanked the Judge as he was taken down.