A cannabis dealer caught selling drugs to a 14-year-old boy in a Norwich alleyway has been jailed for 14 months.

Fabio Aguiar, 22, was seen by police officers entering the alley off Shipstone Road on March 26 with a 'young schoolchild', Norwich Crown Court heard on Thursday.

Martin Roochove, prosecuting, told the court police had been in the area looking for a wanted man at the time.

As Aguiar fitted the description they watched him as he entered the alleyway with the boy.

'The child appeared to be around 14 years old,' said Mr Roochove. 'Police stopped the defendant and they smelled an aroma of cannabis. As a consequence of what they observed they searched the defendant and found him with three bags of cannabis – just shy of five and a half grams in total.

'Also in his possession were mobile phones. They have been analysed and had numerous messages consistent with drug use and supply. The defendant was arrested and his account was he had been out to purchase weed. He stated the child was a small boy he had met.'

Andrew Thompson, mitigating for Aguiar, said: 'He accepts selling drugs to adults but never to children. It was for profit but primarily was spent on his own fluctuating drug use. He has been a prolific user of Class B drugs for some time.

'That peaked in London and continued when he moved up to Norfolk for a fresh start.

'He expresses a desire to control his cannabis use.'

But Judge Andrew Shaw, jailing him, rejected the claim he had not intended to sell drugs to the 14-year-old.

'The most troubling aspect of this is you entered that alleyway with a young child said to be aged about 14,' he said.

'You were stopped together with a young child. There was a strong smell of cannabis and you were found to be in possession of three individual bags of cannabis.

'The messages on the mobile phone reveal your involvement in the sale of cannabis.

'You are clearly someone selling cannabis and likely selling it to fund your own addiction to that drug.

'You claim the child was telling you where to buy drugs. I reject that. It seems to me the proper inference is you would have sold some of the drugs to that 14-year-old boy.'

Aguiar, of Magdalen Road, was jailed for 14 months and the court ordered forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.