A SERIAL offender caught selling above-average strength heroin on a Southampton street has begun a two-year jail sentence.

Jonathan Dyer, 41, was arrested after a police officer saw him tucking something suspicious in the waistband of his trousers.

Prosecutor Richard Willcox said that when challenged, Dyer produced 12 wraps of heroin which had been split into £10 deals.

It was of 72 per cent purity and had been cut with diazepan, which increased the chances of a user suffering an overdose or fatality.

Dyer, of Bevois Valley Road, Southampton, admitted possession with intent to supply. He told police he was using the profits to get a flat.

In mitigation, Roderick Blain described how his life had been blighted by drink and drug addiction and how he had been sleeping on the street.

"He had no knowledge about the drugs being cut. He bought them to sell on."

The city crown court heard Dyer had 19 previous convictions for 31 offences.