A LORRY driver from Bury, recruited to a drug importation plot, was caught with a haul of narcotics worth £2.5m, a court has heard.

Derek Fletcher's HGV was stopped and searched by customs officers when he arrived back at Dover.

He had been to Europe on a business trip to collect car parts, but also returned with kilos of cannabis resin and amphetamine.

The reason for his involvement was being in debt, Preston Crown Court was told.

Fletcher (42), of The Spinnings, Summerseat, was jailed for four years and nine months. He appeared for sentence on two offences of conspiracy to fraudulently evade the prohibition of the importation of drugs, one offence of possessing live cartridge bullets without a firearms certificate and also a bail offence.

Mr Tony Cross, prosecuting, said the defendant was arrested at Dover in 2004.

Another man arrested as part of an overall investigation has been given a nine-year sentence. That person was the subject of observations, video surveillance and other investigations by the police.

Fletcher had been a HGV driver for a firm based near Preston for six years. Inside his vehicle 819 kilos of cannabis resin and 29.8 kilos of amphetamine were found. The drugs had an estimated value of two and half million pounds.

Defence barrister, Mr Paul Lawton explained that Fletcher was not criminally sophisticated, but a man who had become involved because of debts.

"He was out of his depth. While he knew he was dealing with quantities of Class B controlled drugs, he had no idea of the concept or scale in terms of weight.

"When intercepted at Dover, he effectively knew there and then that the game was up."

Mr Lawton said Fletcher's involvement had been only just above a subordinate role.

"He is a loyal, caring family man who deeply regrets the shroud of misery which now descends on his family, through his foolishness. The court can be confident he will not appear in court again."