FAMILY members have been jailed almost one year after attempting to sell class a drugs at Creamfields music festival.

Darien and Michael Dean, both of Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, were each sentenced to three years in prison for taking cocaine and MDMA into the Daresbury-based festival last year.

They appeared in Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, just two days before the four-day festival kicks off for 2019.

Jayne Morris, prosecuting, told the court how on August 24 at about 5.30pm, security officers on duty watching those transferring between sites at Creamfields, approached Darien Dean and asked if him if there was anything he wanted to show them.

Darien Dean, 23, presented drugs to the security guards, shortly followed by Michael Dean, 27.

Both men were carrying a total of 47 packages of cocaine with a street value of between £1,880 and £4,700, as well as MDMA in powder and tablet form and £930 in cash.

Michael Dean stated no comment during his police interview whereas Darien Dean gave a statement saying the drugs were given to him by someone else.

But, text messages on one of the mobile phones seized by police showed an enquiry about selling drugs at Creamfields, which the court said suggested the pair were planning on making a financial gain.

Michael Kearney, representing Darien Dean, said he should be given full credit for his guilty plea.

Warrington Guardian:

The court heard how he has two children to support and accepts that he will be put out of their lives for some time because of this offence.

Michael Dean, represented by Anna Pope, was also entitled to full credit due to his timely plea.

Ms Pope told the court how he is a qualified plumber and explained how he had been living in a stable home with a partner and a daughter.

The court heard how Michael Dean then became ill which was undiagnosed for some time.

Warrington Guardian:

Before the incident at Creamfields he had to move out of the family home and he turned to drugs to cope with the pain of his illness, but is now dealing well after a diagnosis.

Judge Simon Berkson, prosecuting in Chester Crown Court, began: "Michael, you are 27 years of age and Darien, you are 23 years of age – by your pleas, you were going to sell drugs at the festival."

Judge Berkson explained how Cheshire Police invest heavily, both financially and in human resources, to keep drugs out of Creamfields, involving various warning leaflets, posters and deposit bins when queuing to enter the festival.

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Despite these warnings, Judge Berkson explained how both men had shown determined efforts in taking drugs into the festival and an immediate custodial sentence was the only sentence he could give in these serious circumstances.