A ‘persistent’ drug dealer who was caught four times in four months has been locked up.

William Todd was initially caught with heroin and crack cocaine when police officers stopped him in Darlington town centre.

A search of his home, in March last year, revealed he had cash and drug paraphernalia stashed away, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, described the 35-year-old as a ‘persistent’ drug dealer after he was picked up twice in June and a further time in July.

Read next: Convicted rapist jailed for failing to register TikTok and Snapchat aliases

He said a total of £5,893.50 was seized from the defendant across all four of his arrests, while drugs worth between £5,500 and £6,000 were also recovered.

Mr Sabiston said Todd was spotted on Duke Street, Darlington, on June 25, and tried to flee the area but was arrested inside his campervan which was parked on a nearby street.

He said a search of the vehicle resulted in £2,300 in cash being seized and £3,000 worth of Class A drugs.

The Northern Echo: William Todd, of Darlington, has been jailed for four years and six months for drug dealing.William Todd, of Darlington, has been jailed for four years and six months for drug dealing. (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Todd was stopped ten-days earlier he was found to be in possession of cannabis.

His final arrest happened on July 25 when he was stopped on Parkside, Darlington, with £1,000 in cash and nine wraps of crack cocaine worth between £200-£250.

Todd, of HMP Durham, pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of Class A drugs – heroin and crack cocaine – with intent to supply; possession of cannabis; possession of heroin; and possession of amphetamine.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said her client’s life had spiralled out of control following the death of his mother and suicide of his nephew, who lived in the family home.

She said Todd turned to dealing after racking up a drug debt after he became addicted to heroin and became homeless.

“In reality, it was street dealing with a certain amount of pressure, and there were early guilty pleas,” she added.

Read more:

​If you want to read more stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here

Recorder Aisha Wadoodi sentenced Todd to a total of four years and six months for all offences.

She said: “The prosecution described you as a street dealer and there is no proceeds of crime act as that reflects the fact that you didn’t make anything out of this – you were repaying a debt to your own drug dealer at the time.”