A TEENAGER caught with a taser-gun marked ‘police’, and found to be ‘minding’ £4,000 worth of cannabis, has been warned he came within a whisker of being sent to detention.

Judge Beverley Lunt warned the 16-year-old that he had better mend his ways and ease the burden on his seriously-ill mother - or lose his liberty.

Police turned up at the youngster’s Accrington home after receiving a tip-off that he was carrying a taser, Burnley Crown Court was told.

And when officers searched his bedroom, they found a taser, marked ‘police’, which only required a small piece of metal, such as a paper clip, to be reactivated, the court heard.

Prosecutor Stephen Parker said the youngster had been boasting about having the taser, which also served as a flashlight, to friends, which is apparently how police became aware of the instrument.

The teenager was not present at the time so officers returned to his home a few days later and noticed a strong smell of cannabis.

Mr Parker said officers searched a walk-in wardrobe and found more than 450 grams worth of the drug, some of it being hung up to dry, smaller amounts bagged up in £10 deals, with digital scales also present.

Interviewed about the find later, the teenager claimed he had been asked to look after the drugs, which had a street value of around £4,000, by dealers, after running up a £50 debt.

But Judge Lunt said it was highly unlikely that the teenager would be entrusted with such as large amount of cannabis over such a minor sum.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon and being concerned in the supply of cannabis. He was given a two-year youth rehabilitation order in March, for aggravated vehicle taking, after being the passenger in a tipper truck which crashed head-on with a car after going the wrong way around a roundabout.

Neil Howard, defending, said his client, whose mother remained very ill, had made good progress on his March court order.

Imposing a further two-year rehabilitation order, Judge Lunt said: “This kind of carry-on is not helping your mum. The strain on her is enormous. Having £4,000 worth of cannabis in the house was stinking the placed out - she had an idea what was going because that’s why she let the police in.”

The judged warned the teenager that if he breached the rehab order, she would immediately sentence him to an eight-month detention and training term.