A HAMPSHIRE man who assisted in smuggling drugs worth more than £3,000 into prison while serving time has escaped more jail.

Ian Cheetham was an inmate on gardening duty at HMP Erlestoke when he was caught on CCTV receiving two socks filled with drugs which were thrown over the fence.

The packages contained a quantity of cannabis, cannabis resin and 242 diazapam tablets worth a street value of around £3,600, Salisbury Crown Court heard.

Tom Wright, prosecuting, said: “He was seen on CCTV to involve himself with a wheelie bin which was being moved by another inmate.

“Two packages were thrown over the prison fence and Mr Cheetham quickly moved to recover these items.”

He was then seen putting the socks, containing 28.3grams of herbal cannabis, 63grams of cannabis resin and the 242 tablets, into the bin which was to be transported to other areas of the prison.

Mr Wright added: “Also within the package were a number of SIM cards and mobile phone components and a substantial quantity of spice, which is now a prohibited drug. At the time of the offence it had not been made illegal.”

Cheetham, from Stockbridge, pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs but denied any charges involving mobile phones.

At the time of the offence, in July 2015, the 30-year-old was serving a sentence for conspiracy to supply cannabis after he was pulled over in a car on the A34 with a pillow case-sized quantity of the class B drug as part of an operation transporting drugs from Liverpool to Andover.

Ann Ellery, defending, told the court that Cheetham admitted to assisting in smuggling the drugs into the prison by picking them up and putting them into the wheelie bin but that was as far as his involvement went.

She went on to say that his role was in repayment of a drug debt accrued in prison and that he was being bullied by his creditors.

The court heard that Cheetham was released from prison in January last year and, despite the offence taking place in July 2015, he was not formally charged because of police delays until December 2016.

During that time he has built himself a more stable life with a full-time job and partner.

Cheetham was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work in the community, 10 rehabilitation activity days, and a drug rehabilitation requirement as well as paying costs and a victim surcharge.