A father has been given a suspended jail sentence after he was caught with thousands of pounds worth of cannabis in his car.

Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday that police went to Ellison Street, Crosland Moor, on September 5 last year. Duncan Ritchie, prosecuting, said they saw Marc Murphy standing by a VW Golf with his two year-old daughter and two men who made off when the police approached.

Three small bags of skunk cannabis and £40 cash were recovered from the car but the boot could not be opened. When it was accessed from the rear of the vehicle a larger bag of skunk cannabis was recovered with a street value of around £4,000.

Murphy was arrested and claimed someone put the cannabis in the vehicle but when his address was searched a further 40 grams of cannabis was found along with some scales, a small bag of cocaine and some Class C tablets.

A mobile phone was seized containing text messages suggesting Murphy was dealing.

Abdul Iqbal, for Murphy, said he now accepted he was street dealing cannabis and was embarrassed that day that he had his daughter with him.

He suffered from depression and at that time was not taking his medication but using cocaine and class C drugs to improve his mental health.

At one point he was using between £300-£400 worth a week while holding down a job but he has since now lost that employment.

Murphy, 27, of Towngate, Newsome, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and simple possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with 150 hours’ unpaid work.

Judge Christopher Batty told him: “You have suffered from depression and I have no doubt the reason for your depression can be found in the several hundreds of pounds worth of cannabis you have been smoking on a weekly basis for a number of years.”

Take a look at our gallery below to see images of cannabis factories found in Huddersfield in recent years