A PLASTERER was threatened by a man with a handgun and warned he would be hurt if he stopped selling drugs, a court has been told.

Burnley Crown Court heard how 59-year-old Anthony Ford was selling diazepam and cocaine from his home in Peel Street, Padiham, in July 2016.

But his drug-dealing only came to light on September 26, 2016, when police went to his house after concerns were raised about his welfare.

That was after eyewitness Damian Bruce, who was sat in his car waiting to pick up his fiancee from a different house in the street, raised the alarm after seeing Ford being threatened with the firearm.

Prosecuting, Anthony Parkinson said: “While Mr Bruce was parked in his vehicle waiting for his fiancee to return he noticed an altercation ongoing between two males. One of the males was the defendant. He describes initially seeing two males entering the front of the property before leaving again. Thereafter male one returns alone. At that point there was clearly some altercation going on between him and the defendant.”

The court heard how the unidentified man went to an alleyway and returned with a handgun and began pointing it at Ford.

Mr Parkinson said Mr Bruce phoned the police and when they arrived, Ford was searched and officers found a draw string bag containing seven snap bags of cocaine and snap bags containing 88 diazepam tablets. The drugs had a total street value of around £480. Police also found several hundred pounds in bank notes in his house, as well as weighing scales with traces of cocaine. When officers examined his mobile phone they also found text messages linked to drug dealing dating back several months.

Ford pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply. The court heard that put him in breach of a 24-month suspended prison sentence he received in 2015 for possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Defending, Philip Holden said his client had somewhat of a chequered past but had managed to stay out of prison for 30 years and run his own plastering business. But he said his client had many problems in his life which led to him spiralling back into drug addiction, including the death of his partner from terminal cancer and the death of his mother.

Recorder Thomas Ryan said he accepted Ford had been threatened to continue selling the drugs and sentenced him to 12 months in prison.