AN unemployed Darlington man has been jailed for seven years for trying to import more than £250,000 of drugs into Britain.

John Edward Harrison, 22, claimed he did not know how the cocaine and Ecstasy ended up in the fuel tank of his hatchback car.

But he pleaded guilty to importing the drugs and was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court, in Kent, yesterday.

Last night, Customs and Excise officials welcomed the sentence and said it should serve as a deterrent to anyone thinking of smuggling drugs.

Customs spokesman Nigel Knott said 4kg of cocaine and 3,000 Ecstasy tablets were found in the fuel tank of the Peugeot 306 when Harrison was pulled over in Dover in February and Customs officers noticed a strong smell of fuel in the car.

Removing the rear passenger seat, it was noticed the top of the tank was wet, and the drugs packages were found inside the tank.

Harrison, of Bank Top Mews, Darlington, claimed to have been visiting a friend in Germany.

Mr Knott said he had no documentation for the car, or receipts for fuel, despite claiming he filled the tank just outside Calais.

He told investigators he had stayed in France and woke one morning to find his car missing. It was returned later that day and that is when the drugs could have been hidden.

In Bank Top Mews, off Neasham Road, there was no sign that Harrison's flat was occupied. One resident said: "We never saw that much of him and I never would have expected anything like this."

The maximum penalty for importing Class A drugs such as cocaine and Ecstasy is life imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

Recent seizures by Customs include 3.6 tonnes of cocaine in the Atlantic and 400kg of heroin in Wales.

Mr Knott said: "The severity of this sentence reflects the seriousness with which the courts view importation of drugs offences. This should act as a warning to anybody considering bringing drugs through the Channel ports."