David Hall bought 29 diazepam tablets – known as "Blueys" on the street – to cope with the depression of being jobless.

South Tyneside Magistrates' Court heard how the 30-year-old had been searching for a job for 18 months, but to no avail.

His solicitor Vic Laffey told the court: "He bought these drugs because he was suffering from depression, because he's been unable to find employment. He's been out of work for 18 months. At the time he was feeling particularly low.

"He decided to buy them from someone in a pub, instead of asking for legal medical assistance, which is what he should have done."

Magistrates heard how the blue tablets were found when police searched his house in Dean Road, South Shields, in April.

Glenda Beck, prosecuting, said: "During the search, officers found a bag of blue tablets.

"The defendant said they were Valium and that he had bought them at a pub, although he didn't say who off or where he bought them. After testing, the tablets were later found to be diazepam."

Hall, who lives alone, was fined £123 after admitting possession of a Class C drug, and magistrates ordered the drugs to be destroyed.

In October last year, a Gazette investigation found that scores of South Tynesiders are using a dangerous combination of Blueys and alcohol for recreational use.

The borough's drug experts said an increasing number of teenagers are "risking their lives" by taking a cocktail of booze and blue diazepam tablets.

And we spoke to one former addict who told how Blueys nearly destroyed his life.