A HOPEFUL footballer caught by police flushing away drugs he planned to dish out to addicts has avoided detention.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, tried to get rid of the drugs down the toilet as officers combed his Oxford home.

He took the stand during his hearing at Oxford Crown Court, confessing he had been dishing out drugs for 'quite a while', storing them in the house he shared with his young sister and parents.

Quizzed by Recorder Adrian Chaplin, the teenager admitted he would feel 'heartbroken' if he ever discovered his sister had fallen victim to drugs in the future and vowed never to turn to dealing again.

Sentencing him on Tuesday, the recorder slapped the teenager with a youth rehabilitation order, with an 18-month supervision requirement, a 90-day electronically tagged curfew from 7am until 7pm, a 10-day activity requirement and a six-day programme requirement.

He condemned the young offender, who strolled out of court with a grin on his face, for taking a 'criminal shortcut' to get extra cash.

The recorder added: "These courts are full of people whose lives have been destroyed by drugs. Incoherent people who spend most of their lives sitting on pavements.

"Their money has gone to drug dealers [who are] making a living out of the destruction of other human being's lives. Those zombies out there are someone's brother and sister."

But the recorder decided not to order the teenager, who is still being handed £250 each month from a football scholarship, to pay any of the £340 costs requested by the prosecution.

Police scoured the teenager's home, discovering 70 deals of cocaine in an upstairs bathroom at about 6.30pm on February 16, prosecutor Alexandra Bull said.

A carrier bag with herbal cannabis was uncovered separated into deal bags under the stairs, along with small wraps of 'white balls' found in a shoe box in a bedroom.

Two mobile phones, scales and a combat knife were also detected by officers at the house, while £325 was found on the defendant at the police station.

Defence barrister Gordana Turudija-Austin said the teenager, did not think about the consequences of his offending when he turned to dealing and felt 'ashamed'.

She added: "This is almost like a wake up call for him and he does stand to lose quite a lot - more than anything, his dream career. He has a promising career in front of him. He has been punished in a sense."

The defendant admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine, a class A drug, and cannabis, a class B drug.

Recorder Chaplin also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs, and forfeiture of cash seized.