RESIDENTS on a housing estate are relieved after a drug dealer was jailed for four years this week.

Parents on the Lakes Estate, in Redcar, complained that Michael Singh was peddling heroin and told police they wanted him locked up.

Officers increased street patrols and caught Singh, 25, with 48 wraps of heroin, which he was selling for £5 each. He was jailed after a jury at Teesside Crown Court found him guilty of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply.

Police welcomed the sentence and warned other dealers that they would not be tolerated.

DC Richie Lawrenson, of Langbaurgh drugs unit, said: "This was an excellent result and has removed yet another drug dealer from our streets. I would like to thank members of the public who were brave enough to provide police with information so we had a strong case. It is thanks to the community working closely with ourselves that we are able to continue to clamp down on those who trade in misery and degradation."

He encouraged anyone who knew about drug dealing in their area to keep information coming in to the police.

He said: "You may not see houses raided the next day or even the day after that, but I promise you we will act. Drug dealers will be targeted, brought before the courts and dealt with."

David Lamb, prosecuting, said Singh, of Blayberry Close, Redcar, had never had a job and had previous convictions for robbery and assault on police.

The judge, Recorder Neil Davey, told Singh: "Heroin is a killer. It kills people. It wrecks their bodies, their lives and their families' lives."