Thug in jail for knocking ex unconscious with kettle…

Thug in jail for knocking ex unconscious with kettle had also been dealing spice

A thug jailed for knocking his ex unconscious with a kettle and "keeping her hostage" in her home had also been dealing spice.

As previously reported on Chroniclelive, Tony Ash was locked up earlier this year for the horrifying attack on his former partner, which happened in her home in October last year. However, now it has emerged that, 10 months prior to the assault, the 30-year-old had also been dealing spice.

A court heard that, in December 2020, police searched Ash's home and found £975-worth of the class B drug, also known as synthetic cannabis. Officers also seized his phone and found evidence Ash had been dealing at a street level, prosecutors said.

Appearing before magistrates in Newcastle via video link from HMP Northumberland, where he's still serving his sentence for the assault on his ex, Ash, formerly of Rothbury Terrace, in Heaton, pleaded guilty to possession of a class B drug with intent to supply.

Claire Armstrong, prosecuting, said police were called to a street in Heaton on December 28 2020 after reports Ash had been stabbed. Whilst he was receiving treatment from paramedics, officers had cause to search his home address.

Miss Armstrong continued: "They found a quantity of drugs, which were seized, along with the defendant's phone. Those drugs were tested and found to be spice. One container held 89.6g of spice, while another held 8.27g. Police asked a drugs expert about the quantities and they stated that the amount the defendant had was far in excess of what an habitual user would have for personal use."

The court heard messages on Ash's phone also indicated that he had been involved in the supply of Spice at a street level. However, he was also an addict and had been using some himself.

Magistrates were told that Ash had 94 convictions on his record, including 15 for possession of drugs. Mark Harrison, defending, said there was not "a shred of professionalism" in what Ash was doing, adding: "He acknowledges, from time to time, he shared the spice. It didn't yield him a lifestyle or provide him with a significant income, it just softened the cost for what he was spending on the drug."

Ash was jailed for eight weeks but it will not be added on to the end of his current sentence, from which he is due to be possibly released in November.

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