Two men who sold cannabis to clear their debts have been locked up.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Mohammed Akhtar, 28 and Shaban Hussain, 27, had been arrested after they gave undercover police officers a bag of cannabis in Accrington.

Police had been observing them after receiving information.

The officers and defendants met, a bag was exchanged and officers swooped and seized the bag.

Inside the bag was cannabis bush, worth more then £2,000, split into 215 packets and 200 snap-seal bags.

Father-of-three Hussain, of Higher Antley Street, Accrington, admitted supplying cannabis and was jailed for 14 months. Akhtar, of Perth Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply and was sent to prison for 12 months.

He was of previous good character.

Hussain had a previous conviction for drugs. He was said to have told a probation officer he had been involved in taking and supplying drugs for most of his adult life.

He accepted to the court he had been involved in low-level commercial supply.

Wayne Jackson, for Hussain, said he was employed, headed a team of 30 people, worked long hours, had just been promoted and was earning about £18,000 a year.

Mr Jackson said the offence merited custody but the sentence could be suspended as Hussain deserved to be given a chance.

The defendant had hoped to marry later in the year and was a different person to the one in the prosecution papers, Mr Jackson said. The barrister added: "He has managed to rid himself of drugs use."

Representing Akhtar, David Pojur said his client had committed an offence which was out of character.

The barrister continued: "He has wife and children and works hard. Things are financially very tight for all of them with the arrival of their third child."

Mr Pojur added: "He no longer uses cannabis."

Sentencing, Judge Simon Newell said the motive for the pair’s offending appeared to be debts, either drug or otherwise, but he wondered why two men like the defendants had to resort to drug dealing to make ends meet.

The judge continued: "It seems pretty obvious that the cannabis had been bagged up into one gram deals and bagged up for sale in that amount. This was, in my opinion, a commercial supply."