A FORMER soldier caught in a Wirral wood collecting a consignment of heroin has been jailed for three years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard last week that officers followed Sean Kehoe into Storeton Woods at Bebington after having seen him going there before and behaving suspiciously.

They saw him going to a log and when they pounced, found he had a white container inside which were 76 wraps of heroin worth just over £1,000, said Mr Simon Mintz, prosecuting.

He denied knowing anything about the container, which he had discarded when the police arrived and claimed he had just gone to answer a call of nature.

Kehoe, aged 34, of Argyle Street South, Birkenhead, pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with intent to supply and was jailed for three years.

The judge, Recorder Clement Goldstone, QC, told him he had been able to reduce the sentence because of positive aspects, including the fact that although he was a heroin addict, he had not resorted to the usual criminal offences to fund his habit.

He had also left the army with an exemplary record. "People who serve their country should have the gratitude of society," said the judge.

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