POLICE seized drugs with a street value of almost £30,000 when they searched the home of a charity shop raider.

Addict John Richardson, 30, said he was 'baby-sitting' the haul - which included the class 'A' drug ecstasy to the tune of around £12,000 - for a third party he refused to name, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Richardson was jailed for a total of four years three months after a judge told him he had played an important link in the chain which caused 'misery' to drug users.

Assistant Recorder Robert Warnock said a doctor's report said the defendant could be classed as a victim as he was preyed upon by those more powerful than him in the criminal world.

He added that Richardson had little or no insight into or remorse for the drug matters.

Richardson, of Manchester Road, Haslingden, had earlier admitted possessing ecstasy, amphetamine, cannabis resin and tomazepan, with intent to supply, and burglary at the Oxfam Shop in Haslingden. The court heard he was caught 'red-handed' trying to break into the charity shop.

When his house was searched, officers found a padlocked tool box, containing drugs with a street value of about £28,000.

Michael Lavery, defending, said the defendant, who had had drug addictions and alcohol problems, had been frank with the police.

It was not a case where Richardson was peddling the drugs on the streets or in nightclubs. He was 'baby-sitting' the drugs for a small amount of cannabis and, given his addictions, that was an attractive proposition to him. The defendant had made attempts to detoxify and move away from the drug culture.

Mr Lavery said the defendant believed the drugs in the box were class 'B' controlled and not the more serious type class 'A.'

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