A father and son who were rushed to hospital after swallowing packages of cocaine have been jailed.

Paul and Michael Clynes, from Banbury, swallowed the drugs in a panic after mistakenly believing they were being followed while driving away from Gatwick Airport.

Oxford Crown Court heard the pair had been on a business trip to the Gambia, in West Africa, where they were approached by a man who offered to sell the drugs.

The pair, from Woodfield, refused, but were approached by the man again at Gatwick after getting off the plane, and bought 13 packages of cocaine for £500.

But one of the packages burst inside the stomach of Michael, 23, who needed an operation at The Horton Hospital in Banbury, in August last year.

Brian Payne, prosecuting, said: “Both defendants needed emergency surgery and, of course, the police were called in the meantime.”

He added Michael, a father of one, had swallowed five packages of cocaine worth up to £700. Paul, 45, a football coach and father-of-five, swallowed eight packages worth up to £1,450.

Both admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Terence Woods, defending, said the pair had visited Africa to look at setting up a wood carving business before returning to the UK and buying the drugs.

He said: “They drove away from the airport and they formed the mistaken view they were being followed. They panicked and swallowed the drugs.

“Paul Clynes had a cocaine habit and he purchased the drugs primarily for his own personal use but accepts that he would have supplied some of the drugs to others with a view to covering the cost of the outlay made by him.

“Paul Clynes took the lead and his son effectively helped him out when they thought they were going to be stopped and arrested.”

Judge Tom Corrie jailed Paul Clynes for three years and nine months, and Michael Clynes for two years and nine months.