A man who collected 10 wraps of cocaine on behalf of his girlfriend has been jailed for a year.

Brett Derrick, 29, of Robson Drive, Aylesford, was caught with the class A drug when his van was stopped by police in Dartford in August last year.

The wraps, with a street value between £200 and £250, were contained in a black plastic camera film case which Derrick threw out of the van window "in panic".

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Derrick had acted as a courier for his girlfriend, Ellie Smith, when, in a drunken state, she had threatened to drive to collect them herself, taking her two children with her.

Anna Morris, defending, urged the court to impose a non-custodial sentence, stating that Derrick had learnt from his "massive misjudgment" and since helped his girlfriend to kick her cocaine habit.

But Judge Jeremy Carey said prison was inevitable for those involved in "very dangerous and illegal substances".

He added that Derrick was being shown "a significant degree of mercy" as the sentence had been reduced from a starting point of two-and-a-half years by reason of his impeccable character, guilty plea and the unexplained delay in the case coming to court.

Derrick admitted possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

Prosecutor Alex Wilson said CCTV operators had been watching a man - not Derrick - acting suspiciously outside The Courthouse Pub in Dartford on August 18 last year.

He was known to be associated with drugs and was seen, with another man, to get into Derrick’s works van. The van was then stopped by the police.

Mr Wilson said that after initially telling officers he knew nothing about the drugs, Derrick confessed to having thrown them out of the van window because he was "nervous and scared".

"He said he had collected the drugs on behalf of his girlfriend who had made the arrangement over the telephone with a dealer," added Mr Wilson. "Derrick said she was a heavy user of cocaine."