Jail for addict who hid stash of cocaine

Peter Hull was arrested when officers searched his flat on Bromley Road, St Annes and found enough of the Class A drug to make 231 street deals.

Some amphetamine in paste form was also discovered in his van parked outside the address last October.

Hull, 25, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and the possession of amphetamine.

A judge at Preston Crown Court sentenced him to three years and nine months behind bars.

Prosecutors said police also found more than £2,000 in used bank notes behind a bedroom radiator at the home on October 15, last year.

Mercedeh Jabbari, prosecuting, officers obtained a search warrant and entry was forced. Hull was found standing in the bedroom.

Small scales were found in the kitchen area, as well as a clear plastic bag of a white substance in a top drawer.

That was crack cocaine, weighing 23.1g at 73 per cent purity.

The total value of the drug was £2,310.

A white van parked outside was also searched and a bag containing white paste was found under a passenger seat.

It was 32.6g of amphetamine, worth £330.

Hull later denied possessing the drugs, claiming they could belong to a man who had stayed with him.

He had previous drug offences on his record.

The defendant was on licence from a two year jail term, for possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply, when he carried out his latest offences.

Shirlie Duckworth, defending, said he was “a cog in a wheel”.

Judge Jonathan Gibson told Hull:“You were clearly making financial gain.”

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