The son of a Bradford community leader jailed for 11 years on drugs charges today said: "My dad made a terrible mistake."

Simeon Brown, pictured, told how his father Richard felt he had let down his family, friends and community - but insisted he had never sold drugs to make a profit.

And Brown, 38, the co-manager of Manningham's Young Lion Caf, revealed he was to appeal against the sentence he received at Leeds Crown Court last month.

The judge heard how the Afro-Caribbean community leader admitted handing over crack cocaine worth £55,000 to a London buyer at Leeds railway station.

But Brown - widely known as Bingy - maintains he only acted as a 'go-between' to protect a friend's cousin who had smuggled the drugs from Jamaica and then tried to rip off her criminal 'bosses'.

Today, Brown's eldest son Simeon, 20, of Halifax Road, said: "My dad fully accepts that he was caught with drugs and should be punished for this. But he was only trying to help this woman whose family were being threatened. He is utterly devastated that people now think he is a drugs dealer.

"He has always tried to help people in the black community and these people who got him involved took advantage of that."

He said that, although father-of-nine Brown had already served a jail sentence for armed robbery, he had trained in prison and run two successful businesses when he was released.

"He served his time and tried to do his best in life when he got out. He also did his best for others and that turned out to be his mistake."

Simeon explained that after Jamaican Dexter Coleman was shot dead outside the Lumb Lane caf in July 2000, most potential witnesses refused to come forward and speak to the police. "Many of them respected dad and he told them it would be all right. After that they went and made statements."

"He put CCTV cameras in the caf to stop people dealing drugs inside and there would often be police officers in there chatting to him, which a lot other people did not like. He put his faith in the system but feels that has now let him down."

He also revealed that the caf had now been sold, although it was unclear what would happen to it in the future.