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A 72-year-old milkman has been given a suspended jail sentence for supplying cannabis to pensioners alongside their daily pint. Robert Holding delivered the drug to pensioners along with their milk order Robert Holding admitted selling the drug to "elderly people who had aches and pains". Burnley Crown Court heard Holding had 17 regular customers and built up his trade through "word of mouth". He was said to have delivered the drug with milk to pensioners who had left a note out with their order. Police said the grandfather was arrested at his home in Burnley last July following an investigation over a number of weeks. Officers had discovered a stash of cannabis resin in an egg box in his milk van. He pleaded guilty to charges of supplying the drug between April 1 and July 18, 2008, and possessing it on July 17. It can help with nausea from chemotherapy and for people who lose their appetite after chemotherapy Dr Sarah Jarvis Defence attorney Philip Holden argued that Holding "wasn't making much of a profit" by supplying the drugs. "By the time he's taken off the extra petrol for going out of his way, he wasn't making any money," Mr Holden said. "Word had got out that he was a man who could supply cannabis to those of a certain age with aches and pains and he misguidedly believed he was providing a public service." Despite a warning from Judge Beverly Lunt that he would probably go to prison, Holding received a suspended sentence for supply and possession of the drug. Ms Lunt told him the sentence was "an act of mercy" in light of his wife's illness. The court heard that his wife of 53 years has Alzheimer's disease and recently moved into a care home, where he visits her every day. Holding received a 36-week suspended sentence and a one-year supervision order. -------------------- :D

To add to his charge-list, how many more transfer cock-ups does our genius manager need to make - and then quickly get shut of - before it is truly recognised?