He tried to climb up the wall of a garage but he was arrested
Danny Watling admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply(Image: Humberside Police)
A cocaine addict desperately tried to escape from the police by hurriedly climbing over a garage wall after officers followed him and chased him into a dead-end street. Danny Watling was using “astronomical” amounts of cocaine at the time and his addiction left him with serious money problems.
He was found with £3,600 cash but he tried to pretend that the money was from selling his business, Hull Crown Court heard. Watling, 36, of Millennium Way, Goole, but recently in custody on remand, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply on November 3.
Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, prosecuting, said that police in Goole saw a grey BMW being driven nearby at 8.30am and they were alerted by the police national computer that the car was “marked as a vehicle of interest”. It went into Pasture Road and the driver seemed to be using a mobile phone.
The police continued to follow the car and it went into the car park of a Tesco store in Boothferry Road. The officers activated their flashing blue lights and accelerated towards the car.
The driver – Watling – sped away towards Jefferson Street but it came to a sudden stop because it was a dead end. Watling got out and tried to run off. There was a chase and he threw a black bag over the top of a garage building.
Watling tried to climb up the wall of the garage but he was arrested. He said that he had an ounce of cocaine and he knew that he would be going to prison.
The bag was found and it contained £3,600 cash, two storage devices and two iPhones. “A block of cocaine was seized from the bag,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. It weighed 57.5g and was 79 per cent purity.
His home was searched and weighing scales, with residue on them, were found. He later claimed during police interview that the cash was from part of the proceeds of selling his business but the prosecution believed that it was from drug dealing.
Watling claimed that the cocaine was for his personal use. It had a street value of £4,480. “It appeared to have been freshly cut from a block,” said Miss Kioko-Gilligan.
Watling had convictions for 24 previous offences, including for violence, possessing an offensive weapon, harassment and dishonesty. He had been jailed at Chester Crown Court in May 2015 for three years for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
Billy Torbett, mitigating, said that Watling was suffering a severe crack cocaine addiction at the time, something that had burdened him since his jailing in 2015. Watling had been using “astronomical” amounts of cocaine and it was “taking a toll on him financially” at the time.
“He appears to have managed to turn things around since 2021,” said Mr Torbett. “He knows he needs to change.”
Watling had been in custody for nearly five-and-a-half months and had used his time well by doing joinery and catering courses as well as working as a wing cleaner. “He describes himself as feeling much better,” said Mr Torbett.
“It’s the longest period of his life that he has gone without being reliant on Class A drugs. He knew that he would face longer and longer prison sentences if he did not change his ways.
Watling was jailed for three years and nine months.
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