A Haverfordwest man fled from police with hundreds of pounds of cocaine in his jeans.

Alexander Campbell, of Merlins Crest, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, when he appeared at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Tuesday, May 21.

Abul Hussain, prosecuting, said police officers noticed two men in Haverfordwest in the early hours of April 22 and heard one state: “Keep an eye out for the police if you are scoring.”

When officers told Campbell, 23, that he was going to be detained and searched, he 23, replied: “Oh, no you’re not,” and ran away.

Four packets of white powder were recovered from his jeans when he was caught.

Mr Hussain told the court that the Class A drug weighed three grams, and had an estimated street value of £350 to £400.

He added that Campbell was currently on licence after being released from prison, and had previous drug convictions.

Mike Kelleher, defending, said: “This is a simple and straight forward matter. Mr Campbell was in possession of cocaine and was caught by the police.”

He added that Campbell claimed he had paid £200 for two grams of the Class A drug, and thought the extra weight recorded by the police could be caused by the plastic bag it was contained in.

“He paid £200 for the weight in question, it is highly unlikely that the dealer would have put more in than the amount requested.”

The bench heard that Campbell had lost his job as a result of the offence, but was looking hard for employment.

Magistrates sentenced Campbell to a community order with 40 hours of unpaid work, and ordered him to pay £170 in costs and a surcharge.

A destruction order was made for the seized drugs.