Danny Alders, 34, escaped an immediate custodial sentence after the York hearing was told of his medical history.

Alders, of Seamer Road, Scarborough, was being sentenced on three charges of supplying the drug to an undercover police officer and one of possession of diazepam. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of heroin with intent to supply.

Rob Galley, prosecuting, told how in August and September 2006 Alders had supplied heroin to an undercover police officer on three separate occasions.

On March 20 last year, following a tip-off from a concerned member of the public, police officers approached Alders and another man in Scarborough and recovered a film canister containing heroin and diazepam.

Andrew Semple, in mitigation, described it as a "tragic" case.

He told the court how his client was born with one leg considerably shorter than the other and had undergone failed corrective surgery, including many painful stays in hospital.

Mr Semple said the family doctor believed Alders had become addicted to prescription drugs and had turned to heroin.

He now faced having to make the decision whether or not to have an above-knee amputation.

Mr Semple said his client's dealing in heroin had not been on a commercial scale but purely to fund his own addiction, adding that since his arrest he had made great efforts to cut back on his habit.

The court heard that Alders had no previous drug convictions but had previously committed shoplifting offences to make money to feed his addiction.

Alders was sentenced to 12 months custody suspended for two years and placed under a supervision order for 12 months with a six month drug rehabilitation requirement.

Passing sentence Miss Recorder Deborah Sherwin told Alders that normally anyone caught supplying a Class A drug could expect a substantial prison sentence but, after hearing and reading of the medical background to his case, she was taking an unusual and lenient course of action.