A DEALER was today starting a seven year jail term as a judge praised police for their part in the fight to rid East Lancashire of hard drugs.

Anthony McVay, 31, involved in the pushing of heroin and high purity cocaine and given the minimum term after his third serious drugs offence, had claimed he had dealer's lists to 'wind up' officers, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Sentencing McVay, said to have supplied to feed his own 14 year habit, Judge Lesley Newton told him she was entirely satisfied that as long as he had the addiction, the public needed protection from him, although she accepted he had not made substantial profit from the misery of others.

McVay, of Hood Street, Accrington, was convicted by a jury of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, between July 2000 and February 2001. He had denied the allegations during a four day trial.

The judge said she wanted to publicly thank Padiham- based police sergeant Stephen Hindle and his team for their 'painstaking,' work in the case.

She added the officers had worked carefully and very properly and had helped reduce the risk presented to young people in this area from drug dealers.

Arthur Stuttard, prosecuting, told the court police found the lists and a note reminding himself not to be too greedy when they searched a house on Nairne Street, Burnley, used by the defendant.

When he was at the police station, cash to the tune of almost £700 was discovered on McVay and many of the notes carried traces of heroin. Officers also found a letter which McVay had written but not sent, which referred to him having been beaten up by two masked men and robbed of 'two ounces.' The dealer's lists showed the defendant had been supplying drugs, what kind of profit he expected to make -- and apparently at some stage had made -- from his dealings in fairly large amounts of a class A controlled drugs.

McVay also associated regularly with Stephen Starkie and Shaun Ross, two convicted dealers both recently sentenced for drugs offences.

Mr Stuttard told the court McVay claimed the dealer's lists had been made up to wind up the police who he felt were harrassing him.

Richard Hunt, defending, said McVay was not a dealer who benefitted while others suffered. He was plainly suffering himself.

He had not been on heroin since his arrest. He had been on methadone trying to wean himself off the drug but it was a long drawn-out process.

Until the defendant could kerb his problem he was always going to be a risk, both to others and himself.