A DRUG dealer was jailed for four years for supplying class A drugs while on bail.

Bryan Colin Thomas, 40, of Hillside Road, Blacon, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Monday, alongside his accomplice David Smith, 45, of Plas Dinas, to whom Thomas paid £100 a week for storing drugs at his flat.

Thomas was first arrested in December 2010 after a police raid at his home.

Prosecuting, Jackie Lamb said: “Officers found amphetamines and cannabis with a street value of almost £3,000 as well as mobile phones, scales, bags and £980 cash.

“He also had a ‘dealer’s list’ of names and numbers hidden inside his passport.”

He was arrested again in July after police spotted him in Blacon Point Road smoking cannabis, and a subsequent search of his home revealed £280 in cash, a bag of cannabis, three mobile phones, three counterfeit £20 notes and a key to Smith’s flat, where police discovered a tub of white powder in a fridge-freezer.

He accepted the drugs were his and that he earned £400 a week from selling to a group of 10-15 people in the Blacon area. He also admitted paying Smith for storing the drugs.

Defending Thomas, Richard Thomas said: “He was using the money to drink heavily.

“After he was arrested, he knew he was going to prison so he decided to make as much money as he could.”

Defending Smith, Peter Barnett said: “He lost his job in 2009 and started drinking. He buried his head in the sand and he was paid £100 a week for storing the drugs. ”

Judge Roger Dutton jailed Thomas for four years, minus 45 days spent on remand, and Smith for 12 months.

Inspector Steve Beddows of Cheshire Police said: “This result came from a lot of hard work and dedication to bring to justice those who involve themselves in illegal drug activity and inflict misery upon our communities.”