A DRUG dealer has been given a chance to turn his life around after being caught with hundreds of pounds worth of drugs near a children’s play area.

Ryan Sexon was handed a lifeline yesterday by judge Zoe Smith after being caught red-handed with more than 60 wraps of heroin and cocaine in Garth Park, in Bicester.

But despite the 20-year-old being found with more than £600 worth of drugs and a further £748.58 in cash, the judge decided to give Sexon four months to prove himself.

Oxford Crown Court heard on Thursday how he was found by police on July 29, 2017, with 30 wraps of crack cocaine worth £300 and 31 wraps of heroin worth £310.

The officers arrested Sexon on the spot and once at the station found a further £748.15 in cash in his jeans pocket, plus a mobile phone with texts believed to be advertising the drug deals.

Sexon’s defence team said he turned to alcohol and drugs, namely cannabis, from the age of 13 when his parents separated and then lost touch with his family.

The court heard how this was the start of a spiral in which Sexon found himself in debt to a dealer and forced into dealing himself.

His defence continued to tell judge Smith how Sexon has since moved to London in a bid to better his life and in recent weeks managed to hold down a full time job in tree surgery and landscaping.

Judge Smith said she was impressed by his recent turnaround and said: “I am minded to do something different and I am going to defer [sentencing] to ensure that he is determined to change his life.”

She added: “You have just found yourself employment. You have a bad record but I am going to give you the opportunity to show this is how you intend to proceed.”

Sexon’s sentencing is expected to be on October 23 for two counts of possession with intent to supply.

Judge Smith added: “You are to live a crime-free lifestyle and maintain your work. If you do that then I will not sentence you to a custodial sentence.”