A VILLAGER has been jailed for five years and nine months for drug offences after police chased him in a 4x4 over fields.

Detectives targeted Jonathan Crosland, 50, and watched as he moved from where he had stashed £170,000 plus of heroin and cocaine on his farm to what they believed to be a "drop-point".

When they tried to arrest him, he made off in the 4x4 across farmland with police cars in pursuit.

He abandoned his vehicle and tried to escape down a stream but was arrested.

Crosland, of Cawood between York and Selby, was jailed for being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

Detective Inspector Michelle Falkingham of North Yorkshire Police said: “The prosecution of Crosland has disrupted and broken a major chain supplying class A drugs into Selby, York and beyond.

"The movement and supply of drugs involves the exploitation of vulnerable people and Crosland was profiting from and living off the misery of others for his own gain.

"North Yorkshire Police is committed to identifying and dismantling organised criminals that supply drugs in our county and we will not rest until we have put the drug dealers behind them, behind bars."

A police spokesman said when officers searched a partially built building on Crosland's farm, they found substantial quantities of heroin and crack cocaine hidden in its cavity walls.

Altogether the drugs weighed 5kg and police estimate they would have fetched at least £170,000 in street deals.

The search was carried out after Crosland was arrested at the end of weeks of investigations.

Undercover officers watched as he left the building where he had hidden the drugs on March 3, got into a 4x4 driven by another man and headed towards what detectives believed was a "drop-off" point at the end of a nearby track.

They tried to stop the vehicle as it left the site, but it made off across fields instead. When he leapt out and fled down a stream, he was caught.

Detective Constable Darren May said: “I hope this investigation and the sentence handed to Crosland today sends a clear message to those who think they can supply drugs into our communities with impunity.

"North Yorkshire Police will not allow your criminal activities to go unchecked. If you supply drugs; we will act and we will work tirelessly to disrupt your criminal networks to prevent harmful drugs from ever reaching our streets.”

Mark Eden, 51, of no fixed address, was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £22 statutory surcharge after he admitted failure to stop on Bishopdyke Road, Cawood on March 3.