A man who was paid £900 to smuggle drugs into Britain has been jailed for seven months at Canterbury Crown Court.

Courier Anthony Martin, 51, of Laurel Avenue, St Mary’s Bay, was caught bringing almost one kilo of cannabis into the country in July.

The court heard his Mercedes van was stopped by customs officers at Coquelles, who found packages hidden inside.

Martin, who admitted two charges of smuggling, claimed he had been given cash in a sealed envelope to buy the Cannabis in Amsterdam.

Prosecutor Nancy Udom said that the drugs had a street value of almost £4,000 and Martin had claimed he had been given £900 by a former workfriend to smuggle the drugs into the UK

Judge Timothy Nash told him: “In my view this was a serious offence and deserves a deterrent sentence.”