Meanwood drug dealer caught red-handed as he sold MDMA outside his tent at Leeds Festival

Police later recovered crystals of the class A drug along with weighing scales and over £1,000 in cash from Adam Smith's tent during the 2019 music event at Bramham.

Leeds Crown Court heard customer protection officers were on patrol at the festival at 1.20am on August 22 when they noticed a group of males and females in a circle outside a tent.

Smith was in the middle of the circle handing out clear plastic bags which contained orange-coloured powder.

Police were contacted and Smith admitted the drugs belonged to him after his tent was searched.

The drugs were estimated as having a street value of £710.

Smith's mobile phone was seized and found to contain messages indicating that he had been highly involved in selling drugs in Leeds city centre during the five months leading up to his arrest.

Mohammed Rafiq, mitigating, said Smith carried out the offence in order to fund his own use of the drug.

Mr Rafiq said his client has not used drugs since being arrested.

He managed to find a job as a delivery driver during the pandemic to help support his family.

The barrister said Smith supported his mother by helping to look after his younger siblings and his family would suffer if he was sent to prison.

Mr Rafiq said: "The fear of immediate custody is something that has been giving him sleepless night.

"A prison sentence would be disastrous as far as Adam Smith is concerned."

Smith was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Smith was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Recorder Kate Batty told Smith: "You will appreciate that people who supply class A drugs, especially at festivals, in the way you did with commercial intent should go to prison.

"The seriousness of this cannot be understated.

"We hear in the news all the time about young people becoming significantly ill or even dying.

"It cannot be understated how badly wrong these things can go.

"You effectively put other people at risk so you could carry on taking drugs."