A London Colney man who took to dealing in drugs, assuming it would solve his financial problems, has been jailed for 27 months.

David Jones, 27, of Cotlandswick, pleaded guilty to possessing a Class A drug, cocaine, with intent to supply it, when he appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday (13).

Judge Andrew Bright was told that Jones had got himself into debt and saw drug dealing as a way out of the fix he was in, so he began a street dealing operation, peddling cocaine.

But instead, it led to more grief for him when police found him to be in possession of 51.74 grams of the drug with a purity of 65 per cent.

Along with the cocaine, police found a quantity of cutting agent Jones had acquired, so that he could ‘cut’ the drug to make it go further and reap more money.

The court heard that it was on July 22 this year that police, acting on information, arrested Jones and searched his property, where they discovered drug paraphernalia in his bedroom.

Passing a prison sentence on Jones, Judge Bright said he had made a full and frank admission which suggested his remorse was genuine.