A dopey dad accidentally sent his son to nursery school with a "drug dealer's kit" instead of his usual pack lunch.

EDF Tree surgeon Lee Webb confused the two bags before taking his child to the Smarty Pants Nursery in Folkestone.

Staff opened up the toddler's rucksack expecting to find food and drink for lunch, but instead, discovered cocaine and mephedrone – a banned stimulant – inside.

And alongside the illegal substances, they found two knives, a set of scales and other drugs paraphernalia.

Judge Simon James told him: "You sent your three-year-old son to nursery with a rucksack containing a significant quantity of class A and B drugs. In effect, you sent your son there with a drug dealer's kit!"

Prosecutor Mary Jacobson told Canterbury Crown Court that staff alerted police – but then the child's father Lee Webb turned up and demanded the bag back.

"Your stupidity put children at risk and I consider the potential exposure to children of these drugs is so serious only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified..." - Judge Simon James

She said that they refused to hand over the Tupperware box and Webb then left.

Now Webb, 23, from Burrow Road, Folkestone has been jailed for four years after admitting possessing the Class A and B drugs.

Judge James told him: "Your stupidity put children at risk and I consider the potential exposure to children of these drugs is so serious only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified."

The prosecutor told how the incident happened in March last year when the father of two dropped his son off at the nursery with the rucksack at 8.45 am

“The staff noted the bag contained what they thought could be drugs and they called the police.

“The defendant later returned and asked for the bag back but staff would not return it and the defendant then left.

“A PCSO then arrived and took possession of the Tupperware tub with white powder, a blue wrap, a spoon, weighing scales and two knives, “ she added.

Officers later raided his home and arrested him – and noted of his hand he had written details of a local solicitor.

Webb, who also had a stash of £680 at hishouse, claimed he had been given the bag by another person to look after overnight.

But the judge told him: “You maintain you were holding the drugs on behalf of another and that you were expecting to be paid cash for holding the drugs.

“You must have been well trusted by those further up the (drugs) chain although you indicated you felt intimidated by the individual you assisted.

"Stupidity does not even come close to describing the actions of this man..." - Detective Constable Kay Brown

“Yet you have rejected an opportunity to give evidence in relation to this man and, in reality, profits from selling drugs mean that those involved are invariably intimidating.”

The judge added that he accepted that giving the drugs for his son to take to nursery had been a mistake – and Webb was now genuinely remorseful.

Speaking after sentencing, the investigating officer Detective Constable Kay Brown said: "Stupidity does not even come close to describing the actions of this man.

"The consequences of his irresponsible, not to mention illegal actions, could have been severe. As a father his role is to protect and nurture, however he put his own child at serious risk of harm.

"The staff at the nursery must be praised for their actions. Clearly a serious offence had been committed and they would not be intimidated when Webb demanded the drugs and other items back and they rightly called the police.

"This is a significant custodial sentence which reflects the severity of the crime."

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