A DRUG dealer who did 'a deal with the devil' to bring heroin and cocaine into Hereford has been jailed.

Anthony Lowe was jailed for three years at Worcester Crown Court on Monday after admitting bringing the drugs into Hereford from the West Midlands. Worcester's offender manager DI Dave Knight said police were committed to stopping dealers bringing drugs into Worcester and Hereford from elsewhere as they work with regional policing units to cut the supply lines.

Lowe, 27, of Essex Street, Walsall, admitted five counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and three of possessing criminal property.

He admitted dealing heroin and cocaine on September 4 last year, cocaine on November 3 last year and heroin on January 8 this year.

He was found with criminal property on September 4 (£646.51 in cash), on November 3 (£1,000) and on January 8 this year (£1,153.17 in cash).

Mark Thompson, defending, said: "He did a deal with the devil. Once you agree to acting as a courier or foot soldier for people higher up the chain you don't have a contract of employment and you can't give notice.

"He was under some pressure to carry on that role. He did not feel able to duck out of it. He feared for his own safety and more for his family."

He described Lowe as a father-of-two who lived with his mum and felt he had let those closest to him down, particularly his mother and children.

"He knows the seriousness of dealing class A drugs. He came into it out of desperation and could not get out of it easily. He's not a user of class A drugs. He was simply the mechanism by which suppliers in the West Midlands could get their drugs to Hereford" he said.

Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC jailed him for three years.

A proceeds of crime timetable has also been drawn up.