An 18-year-old London gang member forced a vulnerable drug user to let him use her Norwich flat to deal crack and heroin, a court heard.

Jimmy Songa - described as an 'expendable soldier' - told the tenant it was okay for him to use her Barrack Street flat as his drug dealing base, known as 'cuckooing', Norwich Crown Court was told on Friday.

William Carter, prosecuting, said: 'This case is sadly a not uncommon occurrence of cuckooing, when the flat is taken over by a drug dealer to use to sell Class A drugs.'

He said the tenant did not want her flat used in this way but said Songa said he was told it was okay for him to stay and walked in.

'Songa is a member of an organised criminal gang ferrying drugs up to Norfolk.'

He had been operating at the flat a few days when police raided the address and found £500 in cash and seized crack cocaine with a street value of between £1,430 to £2,145 and heroin with a street value of £1,470.

Songa, from London, admitted possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply in September 2015. The court heard he had since served a sentence for a similar matter of drug dealing and also been involved in a shooting incident, in May last year, when he was shot in the leg, although no one was caught for the offence.

Isham Dave, for Songa, said he was a promising young footballer but injury forced him to abandon his dream and he got in with the wrong crowd.

He said Songa was under pressure to take drugs to Norwich and was just 17 at the time.

Mr Dave said: 'He had been associating with people he had a healthy fear of.'

He said Songa was a victim of a shooting, in London, which was a warning and said: 'He is one of the expendable soldiers. It is often the most expendable members that are made to take the risk.'

Sentencing him to two years in a young offender's institution, Judge Maureen Bacon warned it was a last chance: 'You expected to have the glamorous life of a footballer but that did not work out.'

She said he would not get another chance like this.