A pair of young drug dealers have been locked up for a total of four years.

Jack Taylor, 20, and Lee Capper, 19, ran an operation peddling ecstasy and cannabis, a court heard.

Taylor was a ‘street dealer’ using his mobile phone to run the criminal enterprise, while Capper stored the drugs in the wardrobe of his house, the hearing was told.

They were caught when police pulled them over because the car they were travelling in appeared ‘unroadworthy’, prosecutors said.

Taylor, of Century Way, Hurdsfield, admitted offering to supply MDMA and cannabis, while Capper, of Earlsway, on the Weston estate, admitted possession with intent to supply MDMA and cannabis on the basis he was asked to look after the ecstasy by Taylor and intended to give it back, at Chester Crown Court.

Recorder for Chester Anne Brown said their role in the enterprise were too serious for them to avoid custody, adding: “Class A drugs bring misery to many people.”

Taylor was sentenced to two years and six months in a young offenders institution. Capper was given 14 months.

Simon Parry, prosecuting, saif: “On July 8 Pc Hunt became aware of a car with Taylor as driver and Capper as passenger.

“He felt it was unroadworthy and followed it to Ambleside Close and they got out.

“Capper walked up a driveway and discarded an item into a bush.

“Police later retrieved a bag of four pink tablets, MDMA.

“Capper also admitted he had a plastic bag with 34g of cannabis hidden in his pants.

“A search of Capper’s house found 60 MDMA tablets in his wardrobe. The 64 tablets were valued at £600 and cannabis, £400.”

Gareth Davies, defending Taylor, said his behaviour was the result of ‘a sad and tragic past’.

He said: “When he was eight his mother took her own life. He struggled to cope and suffered from mental illness when he was 12 or 13 and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He started taking cannabis and by the time he was 20 was smoking £100 worth per week and got into debt. He decided, catastrophically, to start selling ecstasy and cannabis to pay off debt.”

Maria Marcellus, defending Capper, said he had been affected by his parents separating.

She said: “He was in a very dark place. He has let down his family.”