A man whose vehicle was searched by police looking for drugs in a South East Cornwall supermarket car park has been sent to jail.

Officers who searched 38-year-old Keith MacDonald's vehicle in a Liskeard supermarket car park in June seized heroin and cannabis which, if sold in small deals on the streets, could have been worth up to £30,000, prosecutor Philip Lee told Truro Crown Court on Wednesday.

MacDonald, of no fixed abode but who was living in Liskeard at the time, was jailed for three years and four months, towards which the 56 days he had already spent in custody on remand would count.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to possession of the heroin with intent to supply and five further less serious charges. Philip Lee said that MacDonald had told police officers that he had bought the drugs for £4,000 on credit from a man in London in order to sustain his own habit and pay debts of £8,000.

Habit

He had started taking drugs in his late teens and the habit had spiralled out of control.

Defending MacDonald, a man with previous convictions but none involving drugs, Ramsay Quaife said he had co-operated with the police and had pleaded guilty at the magistrates' court at the earliest opportunity.

Mr Quaife added that MacDonald had two teenage children whom he had seen daily before his arrest but not at all since.