POLICE discovered drugs with a street value of up to £3,800 when they raided a Worcester flat.

They seized 44.5 grams of class A cocaine and 41 grams of a class C drug called MDPV, said prosecutor Alex Warren at Worcester Crown Court.

Adam Nicholls, who lived in the flat, had been arrested the previous evening. Also found there were two sets of scales, cutting agent and three mobile phones with text messages about drug supply.

Nicholls, aged 30, of Drake Avenue, Dines Green, pleaded guilty to possession of both drugs with intent to supply. Jailing him for two years and two months, Judge Abbas Mithani QC said the public had to be protected from drug dealers. Mr Warren said the flat was raided on March 14. The cocaine had a top value of £2,200 and the MDPV £1,640.

Nicholls, who refused to answer police questions, had been given a 51-week suspended jail term in 2010 for being concerned in drug supply, after police found 469 grams of cannabis at his home.

Last year he was convicted of battery and possession of cocaine, when nine months of the suspended sentence were activated and three months added.

Defending, Jason Aris said Nicholls had a cocaine habit which had plagued him for a long time. At weekends he could use £350-worth of the drug in a single evening. But he said the family man was usually in work, was highly intelligent and was supported by his family who were in the court’s public gallery.

Mr Aris said Nicholls lost his last job after the prison sentence and needed to fund his addiction by becoming a dealer.