A DRUGS courier caught with heroin in his underpants as he travelled towards Kendal has been jailed for two years.

Zak Brown, 23, was a passenger in an Audi vehicle stopped by police on the A591 near the town just before noon on June 29.

Almost 60 wraps of crack cocaine were found in small container hidden down his trouser leg. A further 49 small bags of heroin were concealed in his boxer shorts.

The total street value of the illicit substances was said to be around £1,100.

Brown admitted possessing both class A drugs, with intent to supply, when he appeared at Carlisle Crown Court today.

When quizzed by police, Brown, of Osborne Road, Manchester, claimed he assumed the role of criminal courier to pay off part of a £5,000 drug debt. He had been warned, he said, that "his fingers would be cut off" if he did not make the trip.

Jailing Brown, Judge Peter Davies said of illegal drugs supply: "It causes misery and degradation, Mr Brown, and you were part of the link in the chain."