Peckish drugs peddler pounced on by police as he left KFC restaurant in Leeds

Simon Ellis was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Astra at about 5pm on April, 2021, when he pulled out of the car park of the Stanningley Road fast-food restaurant. Leeds Crown Court heard this week that he was quickly detained and the officers carried out a search of the vehicle.

They found two bags of white rocks in the car which turned out to be almost 20 grammes of cocaine with a street value of around £800. They also found two iPhones but he refused to hand over the PIN codes, prosecutor Ayesha Smart told Leeds Crown Court this week.

The 39-year-old later admitting possession with an intent to supply Class A drugs, but only the day his trial was due to start. He has 22 previous convictions for 36 offences, but none for drug dealing.

A pre-sentence report suggested his life had “spiralled out of control” after being furloughed during the pandemic, was drinking heavily and taking up to two grammes of cocaine a day.

Mitigating, Marc Luxford said since then Ellis, of Cooper Lane, Shelf, Halifax, had “turned his life around” and was working as a HGV driver. He added: “He was at the time using a significant amount of cocaine and was struggling to afford his habit. He is now completely abstinent. It was an isolated incident, he has no previous convictions for drugs.”

Jailing him for 32 months, Judge Simon Batiste said: “I’m told you are remorseful, but it did not go as far as early guilty plea.”