A gas worker has escaped a jail term five years after police found thousands of ecstasy pills in his Bristol home.

Lee Wassell, 24, had evaded police since he was released on bail in 2004 with serious drug offences hanging over his head.

Yesterday at Bristol Crown Court, he was finally brought to justice but was spared an immediate prison sentence by Judge Carol Hagen because he had turned his life around since his unruly teenage years.

Prosecuting, Neil Treharne told how on October 15, 2004, police raided 42a William Street, Totterdown, and found 1,684 ecstasy tablets in polythene bags in a bedroom.

In the front room, they discovered two small wraps of cocaine and a small amount of cannabis.

There was no one in the house at the time but officers noticed letters addressed to Wassell, who they arrested and questioned.

In interview he admitted the cocaine and cannabis were for personal use but said he had been paid by an "associate" to look after the stash of pills.

The court heard that when he appeared in front of Bristol magistrates the next day there was no prosecution file, so he was bailed and failed to turn up at court again.

It was not until August 28 that police managed to catch up with him again.

A PC stopped a car in Bristol and asked Wassell, who was a passenger, for his personal details.

He gave a false name, struggled with the officer and ran away, eventually being caught after a chase on foot.

When the case came to court Wassell admitted possessing ecstasy with intent to supply, possessing cocaine and cannabis, and obstructing a police constable.

Mitigating, Tabitha Macfarlane said after the drugs incident in 2004 he went to live with his mum and got a job working on gas mains and pipes, which he still has today.

After getting in with a bad crowd as a teenager, she said he was now a "reliable, honest and trustworthy" young man who had not committed any offences since.

She added: "For five years he has not only been out of trouble, he has been working very hard. He panicked when he was stopped by the police officer and gave a false name."

Taking into account his good behaviour, Judge Hagen gave Wassell a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years. He must do 250 hours of unpaid work within the next year and will have to abide by a four-month curfew, from 9pm to 6am.

"You've escaped justice by remaining at large for the last five years," she said. "You do seem to have had a change of heart and a change of lifestyle in the last five years. You've been working hard and that's to your credit."