A LLANELLI drug user has told a court how long waiting lists had stopped him getting the help he needed to kick his habit.

Keri Butchers, of Elizabeth Street, claimed he was at last one step closer to getting specialist support — but only after being arrested by police.

The situation was described when Butchers appeared before town magistrates to plead guilty to being in possession of a class C controlled drug — namely diazepam.

The court was told how on September 11, officers had attended the defendant's home and found 15 blue, 10-milligramme diazepam tablets, lying on the living room floor.

The 22-year-old admitted the drugs had not been obtained by the necessary doctor's prescription and was then arrested.

He was taken to Llanelli police station where he told officers he had bought 20 tablets, for £10, from an unknown person at a local pub, for his own personal use.

Mitigating, Stephen Lloyd, told the court: "Mr Butchers suffers from anxiety and depression and took the tablets to help with these conditions.

"He had been to his GP himself to ask for help to come off them — but was told he needed to see a drugs counsellor instead.

"He contacted substance misuse help group Turning Point and attended monthly meetings with the organisation, between February and September, before finally being referred for specialist help.

"Unfortunately, because the waiting lists were so long, he did not receive this specialist help sooner."

Mr Lloyd told magistrates that since his arrest, Butchers had been referred to drug and alcohol intervention service Prism and was due to see a specialist next week.

He said: "Since February of this year, my client has been trying to get specialist help himself and this has only been sorted because he was arrested by the police."

Presiding magistrate David Peak told the defendant that it had been his "lucky day" and that the court was pleased he was trying to overcome his drug problems by himself.

Butchers was given a 12-month conditional discharge.