A courier caught with illicit drugs worth almost £720,000 on the M6 near Carlisle has been jailed.

Carlisle Crown Court heard that John Read, 51, agreed to bring the drugs north from Liverpool because he wanted to clear his debts.

Despite the high value drugs he had hidden in the boot of his Vuxhall car, he was expecting to be paid just £1,000 for his role, Carlisle Crown Court was told.

When he was stopped on the M6 near Garlands on July 14, police told him that his car would be seized because it was uninsured.

Asked by the officers if there was anything in the car which they needed to be aware of, the defendant told them to look in the boot - where had had a huge consignment of drugs.

There was 23.8 kilograms of cannabis, worth £119,000; and 60 kilograms of amphetamine, worth £600,000.

As he passed sentence, Judge Peter Davies told the defendant, who is a former lorry driver, that he had been transporting a "colossal" amount of illicit drugs that day.

Jailing Read for three years, Judge Peter Davies noted that he had suffered a personal tragedy - the death of his son.

"It was a deeply traumatic loss and it must have had a significant impact on your life and your view of life," said the judge.

But he noted that the defendant, who pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis and amphetamine with intent to supply, had played a trusted and significant role in the drug running operation and that was due to be paid £1,000.

The judge imposed a total of three years jail on Read, whose address was given as Bellimore Street, Garstang, Liverpool.