An "entrepreneur in drugs" who was caught with thousands of pounds worth of cocaine and cannabis has been jailed for eight years.

Bradford Crown Court was told last Thursday that Luke Longbottom was a mid-level dealer who was caught in possession of around £100,000 worth of drugs.

Longbottom had been under police surveillance for a number of days, and officers stopped his car in February.

In it they found around 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, along with large amounts of cutting agents.

The police had seen him in November last year drive to Liverpool to pick up the drugs, and then watched as he distributed large parcels to people in Steeton and at the Asda car park in Colne, where he was arrested.

After he was picked up the police then searched his brother's home on Keighley Road in Cowling.

There they also found a large amount of cannabis resin with a street value of up to £16,000.

Simon Kealy, prosecuting, told the court that police also uncovered mixing and cutting equipment at the house.

Although Longbottom, of Hall Avenue, Sutton, had pleaded guilty to three counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, he had insisted that he was merely a courier.

He said that he had been frightened of others who had also asked him to store the drugs.

Longbottom told the court that his brother was away at the time and had no idea what he was keeping in his house.

"I was frightened to tell the police the truth," Longbottom said. "I was frightened because people knew where I lived. How do you deal with these people? You cannot protect yourself against these people, the police cannot protect you."

But after hearing Longbottom's account at last Thursday's trial, Recorder David Wilby QC told him it was a "rather inept attempt to explain away your obvious criminality", and described Longbottom as an "entrepreneur in drugs".

Recorder Wilby was told that Longbottom, who worked as a skilled labourer and earned around £20,000 per year, owned three properties that had an equity value of £300,000 and also had some £10,000 in savings.

Passing sentence he told Longbottom that his explanation had been a "work of fantasy" and added: "I think it's insulting to suggest that for some reason these sophisticated drugs dealers were manipulating you to take these drugs to your brother's house for no apparent reason.

"I can only conclude that for a period from late October to early November 2005 this man was acting as a middle level, wholesale dealer in sizeable amounts of principally class A drugs."

Longbottom was told he would be back in court on June 5 for a confiscation hearing, which may lead to him being stripped of many of his assets.