A former amateur rugby star in Hull has been given three years in jail for drugs offences – plenty of time to regret the sort of prank traditionally associated with the game.
Daniel Burton, 44, had the daft idea of parking his battered old Transit van in the space reserved for the Superintendent in charge when he answered bail at Beverley police station. He then pretended to take photos when the Super came out to see what was going off.
The joke didn't go down well, which might not have mattered had the van been clean. But general irritation saw officers search it and find another 49 grammes of amphetamine worth £490. Burton was arrested for the new offence.
The bungle occupied Hull Crown court today on a sunny afternoon, as Judge Simon Jack shook his head over Burton's decline from a promising amateur rugby career in his youth. He managed to kick drugs and become both a mentor and rugby coach, but fell back into the habit again.
The judge told him:
You are something of a sad story with a considerable record for drug dealing and dishonesty. You have not been in trouble since 2002 yet now come here to be sentenced for a string of offences.
Burton, who has four children and 131 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession with intent to supply amphetamine which came to light when the £13,500 stash was found in his van after he turned into a Hull primary school. He had gone to the police station at Beverley with fellow-dealer Neal Collinson, 34 and also from Hull, who pleaded guilty to two offences of possession with intent to supply and one of shoplifting.
Defence barrister John Thackray for Burton told the court:
All he has in the world is the van and that has now been confiscated by the police.
Nonetheless, Thackray added, he hoped to return to rugby when his sentence had been served. Collinson was given a 12 month Intensive Alternative to Custody community order.
