A MAN was caught near a prison wall with a drone and a bag full of drugs which had a street value of more than £10,000.

Jonathan Scott had just picked up the stash which had been hidden in a bush when he was arrested outside HMP Parc in Bridgend.

There were four mobile phones and razor blades also inside the holdall and the 37-year-old from Newport was carrying a knuckleduster and amphetamine.

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Although he was not charged with trying to get the contraband into the jail it was suspected that the items were destined to be smuggled inside.

Clare Wilks, prosecuting, said: “On May 6, 2021, police officers were conducting patrols around the perimeter of His Majesty’s Prison at Parc in Bridgend

“It was about 11 o’clock at night when they saw the defendant riding a bike and he seemed to be acting in a suspicious manner.”

Officers stopped him a few hundred yards from the prison and Scott told them he had been paid £100 to pick up the bag from a nearby bush.

Police found cannabis, spice and Subutex with potential street values of £9,000, £1,000 and £900 respectively.

Subutex is a strong painkiller and a controlled class C drug.

Cannabis worth £800 was found when officers later searched the defendant’s flat in Newport.

Scott, of Mill Parade, admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of spice with intent to supply and possession of Subutex with intent to supply.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and possession of amphetamine.

Ben Waters, representing Scott, told Cardiff Crown Court: “In 2021 the defendant’s cousin passed away and he was very close to him.

“He fell into drug misuse and started using heroin and crack cocaine.

“Being a man of limited means he was building up a debt as he was having his drugs, colloquially, on tick.

“The defendant was unable to fund that drug habit and he was told there was a job for him.”

Mr Waters added: “He was desperate to pay off his drug debt.

“It was not a sophisticated offence.”

Judge Matthew Porter-Bryant handed Scott a suspended prison sentence.

He was jailed for 85 weeks, suspended for two years.

The defendant must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and complete an eight-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Scott is set to face a proceeds of crime hearing.