A 22-YEAR-OLD Gwynedd drug supplier was spared jail on Friday, because of what a judge called the “remarkable” delay in charging him.

Carl Andrew Jones, of Craig Madog, Tremadog, a railway worker, had been with two other people searched by police on August 1, 2017, after being spotted in a Ford Focus car at a Pwllheli pub. Caernarfon crown court heard drugs, phones, £100 and a “dealer’s list” were seized.

Jones admitted possessing with intent to supply amphetamine and offering to supply cannabis.

Judge Huw Rees said he was charged on January 16. “I will be referring the question of delay to the resident judge for North Wales,” he declared.

“Had this been prosecuted in a timely fashion your client would have inevitably received a sentence of immediate custody.

"He’s a deplorable record,” the judge told Jones’s lawyer. His offending had been during a suspended sentence.

A further twelve months suspended jail term was imposed with 150 hours unpaid work, a £200 fine, and the £100 was confiscated by the court.

“Your card is very much marked. This is your third appearance for possession with intent to supply,” Judge Rees added.