POLICE seized £47,000 of cocaine when they caught a man red-handed in a drugs preparation workshop in a Bradford house.

Nathan Simpson, 24, of Bideford Mount, Holme Wood, Bradford, has now been jailed for five years and seven months for possession with intent to supply the Class A drug and cannabis.

He pleaded guilty to the offences at Bradford Crown Court on February 9 this year.

Prosecutor Ian Howard said police visiting a house in St Margaret's Avenue, Holme Wood, on September 21, 2014, found Simpson in a drugs workshop in an upstairs bedroom.

They seized 1.269 kilos of cocaine and £470 of cannabis, along with £985 in cash.

Simpson made no comment to all police questions after he was arrested.

His barrister, Jayne Beckett, said he "made a very stupid decision to do something very foolish" when he was 22 years old.

He was capable of leading an honest and caring life and had kept out of trouble since, she added.

Simpson cared for his step-father, who had suffered a serious brain injury, and was the "rock" for his sister, helping to look after her children.

Mrs Beckett said Simpson was thoughtful and articulate and very keen to work, but had known for a long time that he was on his way to prison.

"He did not think it through and the rest is history," she said.

Judge Robert Bartfield said Simpson, along with others, set up a workshop to store, cut and prepare cocaine.

The drug was put into dealer bags in a "painstaking and careful operation."

When the police disturbed Simpson, they found piles of £20 notes lying around.

His DNA was found on the inside of a latex glove used in the drug preparing process.

Judge Bartfield said Simpson had grown up in the last two years and no doubt regretted his actions.

"There is a good deal of good in you, and you are only 24," he stated.

The judge publicly commended Detective Constable Graham Fox and his team for the care and professionalism with which they handled the investigation.