A drug smuggler who threw a tennis ball filled with cannabis over a prison wall has been jailed.

Luke Laurence, 21, of Avondale Road in Walthamstow, pleaded guilty to conveying a prohibited article into prison, and possessing cannabis, after throwing the ball over the wall of HMP Maidstone in September 2017.

The court heard that Laurence was seen by a member of the public facing the prison wall in Lower Boxley Road on September 19, and that suspicions were raised when they saw he was wearing latex gloves and holding a package.

To avoid being spotted they circled the prison and informed the prison that there could be a ‘throwover situation.’

When the witness returned to the location they noticed Laurence was still wearing latex gloves but the package had disappeared.

They took a picture on their phone and made of a note on the details of a vehicle they saw him drive away in before contacting Kent Police.

Inside HMP Maidstone, prison officers standing in a recreation area noticed a prisoner kick a small tennis ball with tape over it and another parcel nearby.

These items were seized and a further search also uncovered a second tennis ball and a black sock. They were found to contain a mobile phone and cannabis.

The vehicle used to drive away from the prison was registered to Laurence and DNA samples taken from cling film inside the packages provided a match to his name.

He was subsequently arrested at his home address, where a search warrant also uncovered a quantity of cannabis in his bedroom.

Detective constable Jo Hazelwood, the investigating officer for this case, said: "The witness was able to provide us with some high quality evidence and this played an important role in us identifying Laurence as the offender.

"The illegal supply of banned items in prisons creates an atmosphere of violence is known to lead to further crimes being committed inside and outside of prison."