THE former Salisbury schoolboy just appointed director of public prosecutions has run into trouble after it was revealed that he sent cannabis in the post to a fellow Bishop Wordsworth's School pupil.

Ken Macdonald, a prominent lawyer in Cherie Blair's Matrix Chambers, sent the package to old friend Ken Townsend - who now lives in Alderbury and works as a bus driver - just days after he began his studies at Oxford University.

But the stunt backfired when Mr Townsend's mother felt a lump in the envelope, opened it and found enough cannabis to make a joint.

Concerned, she took the offending package to the family doctor, who advised her to call the police.

The resulting conviction, which dates from 1971, hit the headlines again this week, after it was revealed that Mr Macdonald had sent his friend the drugs to honour a light-hearted schoolboy agreement.

The sixth-formers had pledged that whoever came into possession of some cannabis first would share it with the other.

Contemporaries at the Cathedral Close grammar school described the teenaged Mr Macdonald as part of a common room clique of trendsetters who impressed fellow pupils with their liberal views and passion for the music of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix.

The agreement with Mr Townsend cost 18-year-old Mr Macdonald a fine of £75 with £5 costs. And the conviction has followed him ever since, as he has progressed through the ranks of the legal profession.

He has declared it at every stage of his career - including when he was appointed to the Bar and when he applied to become a Queen's Counsel.

Mr Macdonald's office said that he would not be making any comment until his appointment was finalised.