A DRUG dealer from Bromsgrove who absconded on bail has been found and jailed for four years.

Kieran Loveridge, 28, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court after going missing for several months.

He was handed a four-year prison term for possession of class A drugs (crack cocaine), being concerned in the supply of cocaine and being concerned in the supply of heroin.

The sentencing capped a two-year operation by West Mercia Police.

In August 2016, a warrant was executed at an address on Foxwalks Avenue, Bromsgrove, where a small amount of drugs were located, as well as cash and mobile phones. Loveridge was arrested at the scene.

Following an investigation focusing on the use of mobile phones as a tool for operating the supply of controlled drugs, Loveridge was charged in October 2017.

He subsequently appeared before Kidderminster Magistrates' Court later that month, where he pleaded not guilty and the case was sent to Worcester Crown Court for a trial.

During the trial in June 2018, Loveridge entered a guilty plea and was bailed for sentencing later in the year, but failed to appear at the sentencing hearing.

A warrant was issued and Loveridge was located in the early hours of May 2, 2019 at an address in Birmingham.

He subsequently appeared at Worcester Crown Court later that day for sentencing.

Following the sentencing, investigating officer, PC Danny Somner from West Mercia Police said: "As a result of concerns raised by the local community, a number of warrants were carried out by officers at premises in Bromsgrove, under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

"There's no place for serious and organised crime in Bromsgrove and I hope this sentencing sends a message to those involved in county lines that if they are coming into our policing areas, we will take action."