A YOUNG rugby player has sworn against using cannabis after he was stopped in York with eight zip bags containing the drug.

Moses Leon Hill, 18, ran off when he saw a special constable arrive in Stonegate to investigate possible vandalism, prosecutor Jane Chadwick told York magistrates. The officer pursued and caught him and found 17.2g of cannabis in the bags in a carrier bag he had with him.

Hill, of Monarch Way, Acomb, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis and was fined £75 with £15 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.

For him, Richard Minion said he had bought the cannabis for his own use for £40. At the time, he smoked the drug. But he had now given it up because he didn’t want to be stopped by police. Hill was a keen rugby league player and had recently got a new job after being laid off from his previous job.