A jury convicted 26-year-old Timothy Bennetts of being a drugs dealer on what recorder Paul Dunkels QC described as "overwhelming evidence" at Truro Crown Court on Thursday.

The lead singer of the local pop group "Four Tons of Funk" at the time of his arrest last July, Bennett had claimed that the £6,000 worth of ecstacy, amphetamine, cannabis resin and cannabis seized when his home in Applin Gardens, Illogan Highway, was searched was for his personal use.

He pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs but the jury convicted him of the more serious allegations of possession with intent to supply others.

advertisement Previously Bennetts had also admitted possession of a small quantity of opium for his own use.

Bennetts had told the court the drugs had been pressed upon him by dealers over a long period. The evening before his home was searched he had packed most of them into a rucksack intending to throw them over the North Cliffs as he wanted to "get a life" and to convince his girlfriend that he had given up drugs.

Recorder Dunkels adjourned sentence until next month to enable a probation report, and if necessary a medical report on his mental history, to be obtained but warned Bennetts to expect to go to jail.

The recorder also ordered the destruction of the drugs and drugs paraphernalia, and that nearly £4,000 cash that was also seized should be retained pending a financial investigation and consideration of a prosecution application for £1,500 costs.