Middlesbrough dealer caught with £25,000 worth of heroin and cocaine after falling ill

Paul Fotheringham was slurring his words and struggling to stand up when a neighbour checked to see if he needed any help.

The 52-year-old begged her not to call the emergency services before handing her a bag containing the drugs and asking her to hide it for him.

Teesside Crown Court heard how at one point Fotheringham grabbed a knife and threatened his neighbour before paramedics managed to push him out of the way.

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Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said when police arrived at the house on Southfield Road, Middlesbrough, the discovered £24,000 worth of heroin and £650 worth of cocaine stashed in the bag.

She said: "She (the neighbour) described him as being under the influence and sliding down the wall and unable to keep his head up – he had white foam coming out of his mouth and he said he had taken cocaine and some tablets."

Paul Fotheringham

The woman called the emergency services as the defendant was struggling to stay on his feet and when paramedics arrived Fotheringham became agitated before grabbing a knife and threatening his neighbour.

Miss Haugstad said the defendant told officers 'I don't supply, I don't supply, check my bank' when he was arrested.

During police interview he accepted the drugs were in his house but they belonged to someone else and had regularly stored drugs for him over the years.

A search of the premises also revealed some digital scales and plastic packing associated with drug dealing.

Fotheringham pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

John Nixon, in mitigation, told the court his client had no previous convictions for drug dealing and had significant mental health problems.

He said: "The drugs didn't belong to him, they belonged to someone else and he was keeping them for that person."

The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Paul Watson QC jailed Fotheringham for two years and eight months.

He said: "What the police discovered on November 7 last year indicated that you were dealing yourself or involved in the process of large scale street dealing of drugs.

"I don't have to tell you of the impact of drug addiction and the misery it causes for people."