A GAMBLER who was arrested during a drugs raid claimed he had called at the house for a cup of coffee.

Colin Noble, 29, said he had been in the building less than a minute when there was banging on the door and everybody panicked.

He said that somebody shouted "get out", and he ran out of the back door of the house in Belle Vue Court, Stockton, to be caught by a police officer.

Mr Noble, from Darlington, told Teesside Crown Court that he knew nothing about the crack cocaine and heroin worth £6,300 which was seized by the police, and said the cash he was carrying was his winnings.

Police checked Mr Noble's story and found he was a "high roller" at a casino on the Teesside Retail Park who lost more than he won, said Ian West, prosecuting.

Mr Noble, of Marlborough Drive, Darlington, denies conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in June and July last year.

Yasser Younis, 24, of Russell Street; Peter Dawson, 30, of Appleton Road; and David Ker, 28, of Londonderry Road, all Stockton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy with persons unknown.

Kimberley Magson, 39, of Ketton Road, Stockton, was twice caught with crack cocaine in Westfield Court, Stockton, said Mr West.

She pleaded guilty to possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply on May 10 last year, but she denied conspiracy to supply it on June 6 last year.

The case continues.