A SMALL find of cannabis in a stolen car led to a bigger drugs haul at the driver's house where police discovered crack cocaine, a court heard.

Police stopped Richy Prakash Parmar in a stolen BMW but he drove off when police asked him to turn the engine off.

Officers later saw the car parked near his house. They found a small amount of cannabis inside the vehicle. A search of Parmar's house revealed 17 rocks of crack cocaine hidden in cassette cases and £685 hidden in his clothing.

Parmar, aged 21, of Ashbourne Avenue, The Haulgh, appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence. He admitted handling the stolen BMW, possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and possessing cannabis resin.

Judge Eliott Knopf jailed Parmar for a total of three-and-a-half years and ordered a hearing to consider confiscation of assets.

Graham Robinson, defending, said that Parmar had bought the BMW for £650. but knew it had been stolen. He said he bought the crack cocaine cheaply for himself and to sell to his friends who used drugs.