A man caught street dealing cocaine from a black Mazda in Bradford has been jailed for two years.

Joshua Wilson was in possession of bags of the drug and £952 in cash which was seized by the police after they swooped on the car on January 21, 2020, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Wilson, 27, of Markfield Crescent, Low Moor, Bradford, pleaded guilty to possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply it.

The car driver, Matthias Mack, 28, of Wenbrough Lane, Tong, Bradford, admitted possession of cannabis, a Class B drug, with intent to supply it.

He was sentenced to ten months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £120 costs.

The court heard that police officers on patrol at Tong Street at 11.15pm were suspicious of the occupants of the car and ordered it to stop.

There was a strong smell of cannabis from the Mazda and both men were “acting strangely.”

There were several phones in the car, two of which had to be prised out of Wilson’s hands. Drugs and a diary were also seized, along with £120 from Mack’s pocket and £152 from Wilson.

A search of Wilson’s home turned up 40 small bags of cocaine and a further £800 in cash.

A phone recovered from the car’s centre console had texts on it consistent with drug dealing.

Jessica Heggie, Mack’s barrister, said he was lightly convicted and had been in no trouble in the two years since the offending.

He was unemployed at the time and struggling to cope with a tragic family bereavement.

He had now set up his own business and was working at a café.

Miss Heggie said he had turned his life around and was the main family breadwinner.

Saf Salam, solicitor advocate for Wilson, said he was low down in the drugs supply chain and selling the cocaine after becoming addicted to it and running up a debt.

The money seized from him wasn’t his. It belonged to those he was working for.

He too had since turned his life around. He was working as a demolition supervisor to provide for his family.

Recorder Joanne Kidd said she was unable to spare Wilson an immediate prison sentence.

Despite his strong personal mitigation, he had been a regular supplier of Class A drugs for more than two months at the time of his arrest.