A DRUG dealer who was told he had brought up his two children in “a drugs den” has been jailed for 18 months.

Scott Durkin, from Prestonpans, was caught with quantities of cannabis and cocaine when police raided his Preston Crescent home last year.

Durkin was caught with £8,500 of the Class B drug cannabis and a further £400 of the Class A drug cocaine.

Along with the illegal stash, police officers discovered scales, bags, grinders and a sieve which had all been used in the supply of drugs to others.

Fiscal depute Lorna Ferrier told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that police arrived at the mid-terraced property at about 9.05am on November 11 last year.

The fiscal said that officers uncovered a black bag containing 12 blocks of cannabis which were said to be in quarter kilo deals.

The court heard that if the drugs were subdivided into smaller deals then the cannabis resin could yield about £8,570.

A further search of the home saw officers find two smaller amounts of cannabis, along with a quantity of cocaine said to weigh in at 16.22g. The drugs could be sold on for about £400.

Traces of both drugs were then found on the sieve, a chopping board and a set of electronic scales.

A mobile phone was also analysed and showed that 47-year-old Durkin had been dealing the drugs to others in the area.

Defence solicitor Sarah Quinn told last Tuesday’s court hearing that her client was “entirely realistic” as to what sentence he would receive and he was “keen to resolve this to save the court’s time”.

Ms Quinn said that Durkin had not been in custody since 1986 and had committed nothing analogous. She said he had suffered a stroke in July and his speech was still affected.

Ms Quinn said that Durkin and his partner stayed at the Prestonpans home with their two children and there would be “significant ramifications” to the family if he were jailed.

But on hearing this information, Sheriff Alison Stirling said: “What you are telling me is that these children have been living in a drugs den?

“That could be seen as an aggravation, not a mitigatory factor.”

Ms Quinn agreed but added that the unemployed warehouse worker had taken “this step to support his family” after he had been paid off from his previous employment.

Ms Quinn added: “He will have to bear the consequences of that decision.”

Sheriff Stirling told Durkin: “In my view there is no alternative to custody in this case. You chose to involve yourself in the supply of drugs.

“You also did this in the family home with two children present.”

Durkin was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison.

Co-accused Kimberley Wight, 33, had her not guilty pleas to three drug-dealing offences accepted by the Crown.

Durkin admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and cocaine from his home address between November 11 and 24 last year.