THE drug dealing son of musician Nigel Kennedy entered the 'filthy trade' to clear debts he had built up snorting cocaine.

Sark Kennedy, son of violinist Nigel, was jailed at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday after he was caught 'red-handed' with more than £15,000 of cocaine in a 'stash car' St John's in Worcester, later misleading the probation service and the court about the extent of his involvement by claiming his dealing was a 'one-off'.

As previously reported, Kennedy was jailed for 33 months for possession with intent to supply cocaine. A second charge of possession of criminal property was allowed to lie on file.

The 25-year-old of Cowleigh Road, Malvern, was dealing the drugs in Worcester between May 14 and June 22 this year, using a Skoda Octavia as a 'stash car' to hold the drugs. Bulk SMS messages were sent out from drug dealing lines to addicts.

On June 22 police vehicles blocked Kennedy in at Bransford Road in Worcester while he was behind the wheel. A search was conducted and police seized from the car a Huawei mobile phone with two SIM cards and a Rolex and gold chains valued at £7,300. In the judge's words Kennedy was 'caught red handed' and was 'up to his neck' in a 'filthy trade'.

Inside the fingers of gloves from petrol station forecourts officers found cocaine divided into 0.4g 'shots', each worth £40.

In total there were 389 wraps of cocaine (146g) with a purity of 59 per cent and a street value of £15,560. An expert described the enterprise as 'mid market level' with the drugs to be handed on to 'multiple street dealers'. The dealer line was described as sending out 'daily global messages'.

We can now reveal that Kennedy also misled the probation service and, by extension, the court about the extent of his involvement. 

John Cooper QC, defending, said: "He asserted it was a one-off. The Crown indicated during the course of the last hearing, on the material they had, that certainly was not the case."

However, he said he had simply asked to see that material and that it was now 'accepted'. Recorder Martin Butterworth, the sentencing judge, told the defendant: "Your attempt to present your drug dealing activity in a more favourable light when interviewed by the probation service backfired for you."

The judge also told Kennedy: "I had considered whether your attempt to hoodwink probation and the court suggested you were a more cynical drug dealer than I'm being asked to see you as. If you were cynical you would know that saying all of that would just produce the response from police that it did."

Mr Cooper went on to describe in his mitigation how Kennedy had travelled in Australia and Indonesia without taking drugs and there had lived 'a law-abiding life', adding: "There's something to work with here in short."

The advocate explained that Kennedy had incurred a drugs debt, the 'sad reality' which lay behind the offences. "That brought him closer and closer to individuals who forced him, cajoled him into helping them, working with them and playing the role properly laid out in the opening" he said.

Mr Cooper added: "He has an unconventional background, an upbringing that could provide excitement perhaps but also, perhaps, a lack of stability."

Explaining that his client had been diagnosed with both ADHD and dyslexia, he added: "Whilst in custody he has made positive steps to address his drug addiction."

This has included engaging with the prisons drug support team. "There's potential here" he said of Kennedy.

Recorder Martin Butterworth, who read a series of references and testimonials before sentencing, said: "I'm prepared to accept you had an addiction to cocaine since you were 18.

"It's perfectly clear that there is a lot about you which would suggest that you are, as Mr Cooper has suggested, entirely capable of becoming a useful member of society. But you became involved in a very significant way in a filthy trade which produces serious and real harm to the people who use the drug. Whether you understand that, or care, I don't know."