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An “intelligent” young drug dealer who lived a lavish lifestyle with designer gear and had tens of thousands of pounds stashed at home was told his career choice had been a “tragedy”.

Joseph Smith was found dealing in cocaine and ketamine, despite a promising start to his life in education.

The 23-year-old was jailed for three years at Leeds Crown Court, with the judge, Recorder Nicholas Worsley KC, telling him: "You are clearly an intelligent young man, but that’s a double-edged because you were clearly aware of what you were doing. It’s a tragedy you are here, but you knew what you were getting into.”

The court heard that police noticed a VW Polo on Carleton Green Close in Pontefract in the early hours of January 26, 2021. Becoming suspicious, they asked Smith to exit the vehicle and searched him. They found cannabis, bags of cocaine and ketamine, along with £565 in cash.

Smith was caught with drugs on him and at his home.

A starter pistol and sets of scales were found by officers after they searched Smith’s home on Rookhill Road in Pontefract.

They also found more drugs totalling over £2,000, along with a “great deal” of designer clothes which “exhibited a good lifestyle”, prosecutor Allan Armbrister said. Around £35,000 in cash was found, sorted into bundles.

They also found three mobile phones, but Smith refused to provide the PIN for any of them to allow analysis. He also gave a no-comment interview to the police.

Smith admitted two count of intending to supply Class A and Class B drugs, two of possession of Class B and possession of criminal property. He has no previous convictions.

A probation report suggested the 23-year-old had a promising young life in education, but “fell in with the wrong crowd”.

Mitigating, Nicholas Clarke said that given the amount of cash found, he conceded it was not a “one-off”.

But he added: “Since is arrest in 2021, everything he has done has been positive. He has gone out to work and has made every effort to distance himself from his former criminality and former associates.

"There’s a significant amount of remorse and there’s an appreciation of the ramifications of his selfish acts.”

Recorder Worsley told Smith: “It’s quite clear that was an enterprise that was going for about 12 months or more prior to your arrest.”

'Intelligent' dealer caught with pistol, designer clothing and £35,000 cash at his Pontefract home