A MAN has been fined for possession of drugs after telling magistrates he was using crack cocaine to ease the pain of a broken jaw.

Anthony Levitt was caught in possession of the Class A drug during a police raid on his home in Maldive Road, Popley, Basingstoke, on January 14.

Prosecutor Clare Roberts said officers found 418mg of crack, with an estimated street value of £30, in a bedside table. Levitt told them the drugs were his and that he was using them as a painkiller.

Miss Roberts added that the defendant has previous convictions for offences involving dishonesty and a past caution for possession of cocaine.

Levitt, who is unemployed and on disability benefit, pleaded guilty to possessing crack.

Representing himself in court, he told the magistrates he had a plate put in his injured jaw on January 2.

"The pain killers didn't seem to be working," he said. "I had tried crack before at a party and it does help with pain relief. That was what these drugs were for because I couldn't sleep.

"It was not easy to get the crack. It is not as widespread as people think."

He told the magistrates he was soon to have an operation to remove the plate from his jaw but added: "If I'm in pain again, I will stick to the prescribed drugs they give me."

Chairman of the bench Ian Dillow fined Levitt £40, plus prosecution costs of £34, and warned him that he had narrowly escaped a jail term.

"A fine is not always the case with Class A drugs, so you've been fortunate," he said. "We don't expect to see you in court again."