A GREATER Leys resident handed in more than £2,000 of drug money he found in his back garden sandpit after it was dumped during a police chase.

Drug dealer Kyran McFarlane, 23, had been spotted by police looking suspicious in Avens Way, Greater Leys, on December 10 last year at around 1.10am.

After a short chase he was seen jumping over a back garden wall in the same road and officers followed him, Oxford Crown Court heard on Thursday.

They apprehended McFarlane but following a search were unable to find any banned substances.

After investigating the garden the police uncovered a backpack hidden under a nearby bush, which contained McFarlane’s drug stash.

Then the following day the owner of the house – who has not been identified – discovered £2,225 in cash buried in the sandpit and handed it to police.

McFarlane, of Emperor Gardens, Greater Leys, was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Thursday for three drug offences connected with the incident.

He admitted possessing five wraps of cocaine and 10 wraps of crack cocaine, both Class A drugs, with intent to supply.

He also confessed to possessing 38 bags of cannabis, a Class B drug, with intent to supply as well as possessing criminal property.

McFarlane has previous convictions for a range of offences, including repeatedly possessing cannabis.

Jane Malcolm, defending, said tragic events in his family life had partly led to her client becoming mixed up in drug dealing.

She told the court his mother had died when he was five years old and his brother had suffered a devastating stroke last April.

Miss Malcolm said: “It doesn’t explain everything on his record.

“But he is someone who has a close family member who will now spend the rest of his life in a centre in Camberwell.

“His brother will not return to live with him and his family when he is eventually released from prison.”

Judge Ian Pringle sentenced McFarlane to two-and-a-half-years in prison for dealing class A drugs, eight months for dealing cannabis and six months for possessing stolen property, to be served at the same time.

He told the defendant: “You know as well as anybody that those who deal class A drugs on the street can expect nothing but an immediate custodial sentence.”