A JUDGE delivered a stark message to any drug dealers in a North-East town yesterday as he jailed three men for supplying heroin.

Durham Crown Court heard how Michael Graham, 25, played the lead role in the operation supplying heroin deals, mainly from a caravan parked outside his home in St Cuthbert's Walk in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

He was jailed for four years after his "runners", 33-year-old Wayne Ellison, and Craig Bennett, 19, also admitted conspiracy to supply heroin.

Sentencing the gang, Judge Maurice Carr said: "Can I make it clear that because of the significant problem Bishop Auckland has, largely relating to heroin, the sentences specifically with regard to offences of this type in Bishop Auckland will be much higher in the future."

The men were arrested last December following months of hard work by police under Operation Bull's-Eye. Nine other people from Bishop Auckland have also been charged as a result, with eight receiving sentences totalling 16 years.

After the case, Detective Inspector Ted Edgar, said: "I certainly think by highlighting his concerns the judge has delivered a serious message which those inclined to deal in controlled drugs should listen to very carefully."

Ellison, of St Cuthbert's Walk, also admitted burglary of a house in the same street in which more than £1,000 was taken, three shoplifting offences and driving while disqualified. He was jailed for three years and nine months.

Bennett, of Ashcroft Gardens, Bishop Auckland, was sent to a young offenders' institution for 27 months.

Operation Bull's-Eye has operated across six police divisions and has resulted in more than 150 drug dealers, car thieves, burglars and shoplifters being arrested. Police seized a number of cannabis plants yesterday from a house on the Woodlands Close Estate, in Bishop Auckland. A man is helping with their inquiries