POLICE found more than £4,000 of cocaine and 2,400 Valium type tablets when they arrested a banned driver.

Father-of-four Peter Yandell had turned to drug dealing to support his family, a court was told.

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The 31-year-old defendant was caught with the large drugs stash by an officer in Elliots Town in Caerphilly last autumn.

Yandell was carrying 45g of cocaine and 2,411 alprazolam in a Vauxhall Astra on the evening of October 29.

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Peter Donnison, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court the cocaine had a potential street value of £4,290.

Officers also recovered drug related messages from a mobile phone.

Yandell, of Jones Street, Phillipstown, Caerphilly, admitted possession of cocaine and with intent to supply and possession of alprazolam, a class C drug, with intent to supply.

He also pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified and driving with no insurance.

Mr Donnison told the court Yandell had 14 previous convictions for 27 offences.

These included four convictions for driving whilst disqualified.

Harry Baker, mitigating, asked for his client’s guilty pleas to be taken into consideration.

He added: “The defendant was dealing to people he knew for financial gain.

“He was trying to make some money for his family and he obviously made a bad choice.

“The defendant has four children who rely on him.”

Judge David Wynn Morgan told Yandell: “Class A drugs bring substantial misery and degradation to the communities where they are rife.”

He jailed him for three years and six months.

Yandell was also banned from driving for 42 months.