A drug dealer found in possession of nearly a third of a kilo of cocaine worth up to £16,000 has been jailed for 30 months.

Sentencing David Smith, Judge Rupert Overbury said he had been found in possession of a "very large amount" of cocaine.

Smith, 51, of Winnock Road, Colchester, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possessing cannabis on September 4 2018 and possessing cocaine on December 18 2019.

Michael Crimp, prosecuting at Ipswich Crown Court, said when Smith was initially arrested in his car in Wivenhoe in September 2018 he was found in possession of a "significant" amount of cocaine.

He was also found in possession of £637 cash and a white bowl containing 78g of cocaine. Further amounts of cocaine were found at his home.

He said the cocaine weighed around 297g and had a value of between £7,000 and £16,000.

Folishade Abiodun, for Smith, said her client's drug use had "spiralled out of control" when he became depressed after he lost his job as a lorry driver after taking time off to care for his seriously ill father.