A DRUG dealer who told police officers “We’re just drug dealing scum” has been jailed for almost four years.

Police officers found cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis with a total street value of up to £43,500 during a raid of Brian Renaut’s house in Clacton on July 29 of last year.

During the warrant, the 43-year-old fled out the property’s backdoor and attempted to hide drugs under a neighbour’s shed but was spotted by officers, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

Renaut was sent to prison for three years and four months yesterday after Judge Timothy Walker stated he must have had an awareness of the scale of the operation he was working within.

Paul Valder, prosecuting, told the court how four plastic packages containing a white powder were found under the shed which Renaut had tried to conceal.

Gazette: Jailed - Brian RenautJailed - Brian Renaut

Upon inspection it was found the vacuum sealed packages contained just under a kilogram of amphetamine and another undisclosed substance.

Police officers then searched Renaut’s house, in Chilburn Road, and found 56.4g of cocaine and £1,940 in cash on the kitchen table, as well as a set of scales.

Within a locked bedroom upstairs, the force discovered bags of cannabis, an extendable baton, a large kitchen knife, an axe and two mobile phones.

Mr Valder added during the search Renaut told officers: “We’re just drug dealing scum, the sooner you get us off the streets the better.”

Gazette: Raid - Chilburn Road, ClactonRaid - Chilburn Road, Clacton

Renaut admitted possession of intent to supply a Class A drug, two counts of possession to supply a Class B drug, possession of criminal property, namely £2,120 in cash, and possession of a weapon.

Pleading for leniency, Phillipa Beswick, mitigating, said her client is a “loving father” who has had mental health issues in the past, of which he is seeking help for while residing in Chelmsford Prison.

However, Judge Walker said the offending was “so serious” custody was the only term he could impose, adding: “There is no doubt the weapons in your bedroom were for your protection given your drug dealing.

“[By dealing drugs] you had an expectation of gaining a significant financial advantage.”