‪A COCAINE and cannabis dealer made a doomed bid to flee after being caught “bang to rights” by police.

‪Edward Charles Brand, 25, was one of three men seen by PCs on patrol in Carlisle at 3pm on March 8.

“One of the males, Mr Brand, had a large black gun case over his shoulder,” prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told the city’s crown court.

“Officers decided to stop and speak to the males. From two metres away they were greeted by the smell of cannabis.

“As they spoke to the males, Mr Brand suddenly dropped the black rifle bag he was carrying to the ground and also threw a mobile phone towards one of his companions, asking him to ‘grab that’.

“He then made a run for it but was caught by one of the officers.

"He was searched and found to be in his possession were four wraps of cannabis and also a quantity of cocaine.”

A set of digital weighing scales was also located along with £150 cash, though Brand claimed the drugs recovered were “all he had”.

But a larger stash was discovered at his Carlisle Briar Bank home.

This included a “half-brick block” of apparently unadulterated white powder – cocaine – still in its original packaging.

This alone had a potential street value of up to £41,000.

More cocaine and cannabis were also recovered.

“A machete was found in a kitchen cupboard,” revealed Mr Rogerson.

Brand admitted possessing both illegal substances with intent to supply.

He received a suspended jail term in 2018 for conspiring with others to supply cannabis.

Mark Shepherd, defending, said the guilty pleas were the best mitigation for Brand, who had a fiancée, 20-month-old son and his own business.

“He has prospects on the outside,” said Mr Shepherd.

“He looks forward to getting beyond this sentence and, in essence, having a brighter future and looking upon this as a salutary experience that has deprived him of a significant part of his young son’s childhood.”

Jailing Brand for four years, Judge Andrew Jefferies QC spoke of him being caught “bang to rights”.

He added: “I take the view and sentence you on the basis you are a street dealer who, for one reason or another, has come into possession of a large quantity of drugs for onward supply.”