A man who behaved ‘outrageously’ by trying to sell drugs to a police officer has narrowly avoided jail.

Ali Haider Butt of Netley Road in Walthamstow appeared at Thames Magistrates Court today where he admitted two charges of possession with intent to supply cannabis.

On July 3, Butt approached PC Biagioni outside a cafe in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, and offered to sell him cannabis.

The 20-year-old was subsequently searched and found to have six bags of the class b drug in his possession.

He also had two phones, one of which contained messages about the sale of drugs.

Sentencing him to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, Judge David Evans said: “You are clearly a young man who has committed a very, very serious offence.

“You had a second phone which had drug related calls on it and you were doing this in one of the busiest places in your own township. It is outrageous what you were doing.

“We have determined that you have in fact reached the threshold for custodial sentence.”

Mr Butt has no previous convictions and his early guilty plea was taken into account for sentencing.

“We don’t want to send you behind bars,” Judge Evans concluded.

“Make sure you don’t force that decision on the next bench.

Mr Butt has also been handed a three month curfew, meaning he must stay at home between the hours of 8pm and 6am between Saturday and Thursday.

He has been given Fridays off so that he can attend mosque.

Costs and court charges were also handed to the defendant who was ordered to pay a total of £345.