A HEROIN and cocaine dealer who led police on a car chase around Headington had a "melodramatic" fake fit and threw his tin of drugs away, a court heard.

Police began following a silver Citroen driven by Leslie Edwards through Headington at about 12.30am on September 16 last year.

But a jury of seven women and five men heard 56-year-old fled from the pursuing squad car and led police on a chase through Headington until he stopped in Stonor Place.

Prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson told Oxford Crown Court yesterday how when the officers tried to arrest Edwards he pretended to have an epileptic fit.

Mr Ward-Jackson said Edward fell to the ground and while pretending to have a fit he threw a metal Extra Ice Mints tin under the car.

He added: "The police approached him and took hold of him in preparation to search him for drugs.

"He said to the police 'I'm having a fit' and the prosecution say that's likely to be a pretend fit.

"But he claimed he was having a fit and rather melodramatically he fell to the ground.

"This was a ruse because the police say in his hand he had a small metal object which he threw on the ground."

Police arrested Edwards and the tin was found to contain 14 individually wrapped bags of a brown powder and waxy white solid which Mr Ward-Jackson said was heroin and crack cocaine.

After searching Edwards' car, police found nine more bags of drugs and about £630 of cash.

Mr Ward-Jackson told the jury how Edwards had 2.18g of heroin and 4.06g of crack cocaine with a street value of about £380.

Edwards, of Medhurst Way, Littlemore, answered no comment when quizzed by police and denies possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.

The trial continues.