A 33-year-old man who was part of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine across the north of England has been jailed for more than five years.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday how Toby Ryder (pictured), of Leal Holme Road, Hartlepool, travelled to the city to meet mastermind Kevin Booth, who was jailed for 16 years in 2010 for leading a conspiracy involving drugs valued at £1.3 million.

Prosecutor Nick Lumley QC told the court mobile phone analysis showed Ryder, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, had met Booth, of Dob Kiln Lane, Bingley, several times in 2009.

He visited Booth’s girlfriend’s house in Birkenshaw on June 11 that year, where drugs equipment was later found.

His Volkswagen Passat was seen by police soon afterwards with a vehicle driven by another conspirator, who had travelled to the Bradford area from Liverpool, the court heard.

The vehicle was stopped on its way back to Liverpool and 2kg of cocaine was found in the boot, Mr Lumley said.

Phone records also showed Ryder had met Booth a week earlier and the drugs baron later travelled to his home in Hartlepool. In mitigation, barrister Alex Menary said Ryder, who also admitted fraudulently obtaining a mortgage, had a troublesome start to life but was now a hard working man.

Ryder was given five years, five months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and six months, to run consecutively, for mortgage fraud.