Barman jailed for supplying drugs

A bar manager from Hertfordshire has been jailed for 18 months for supplying drugs and possessing a gun.

David Boggins, 34, of Northend, Hemel Hempstead, appeared for sentence at St Albans Crown Court.

He had admitted supplying a Class A drug and possessing a double barrelled shotgun without a certificate.

The court heard Boggins sold cocaine to an undercover police officer in April 2008 and was found to have an unlicensed shotgun in his bedroom.

When questioned he said he had found the gun when he was helping clear out a pub.

'One-off incident'

He said he kept it because he intended to take up clay pigeon shooting.

Defence barrister Meyrick Williams said: "This was a supply on a social scale. It was a one-off incident. He got drugs as a favour for a mate," he said.

Mr Williams said Boggins, a father-of-three whose partner is expecting her second child, had stored the gun in his bedroom away from the children.

Jailing Boggins, Judge John Plumstead said: "Those who supply Class A drugs go to jail."

He said keeping the unlicensed gun was an "act of enormous irresponsibility because unlicensed firearms are a very grave danger to the public".