A DRUGS courier received a prison sentence after police found cocaine with a street value of £18,000 in a car.

James Christopher was stopped in Lychpit on September 12, 2013, with the drugs in a safe on the back seat, Winchester Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for two years after admitting possession with intent to supply – only to be told he would walk free because of the amount of time he had spent in custody since his arrest.

The court heard that Christopher, of Verdi Close, Brighton Hill, was in the car that night with his co-defendant Allen Shaw, of Cam Walk, Eastrop.

A further 14 wraps of cocaine, with a street value of around £500, were found near the steering wheel of the car, and the men were arrested.

The court heard that Christopher, 29, pleaded guilty on the basis that he was not dealing, but acting as a courier of the drugs for a man called Dean, as a way of paying back a drug debt.

Text messages found on Christopher’s phone backed up his story, the court heard.

Jeremy Barton, defending Christopher, said his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and had sought help for his drug use while in custody.

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and Judge Jane Miller said he would be free to leave court as the amount of time he had served in custody was the equivalent of a sentence of two years and nine months.

Shaw, 27, was found not guilty by a jury of possession with intent to supply, but pleaded guilty to possession of one wrap of cocaine and a bag of cannabis police found in a sock.

He was fined a total of £500.