A TRADESMAN who helped restore Windsor Castle after the royal residence was severely damaged by fire has been jailed for three years for drug running.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how joiner Peter Summers, 62, had been caught with £25,000 worth of cocaine in his van after police stopped him on the A31 near St Leonard’s.

Summers, from Chesil View, Weymouth, admitted possessing the class A drug, with intent to supply, on April 9 this year.

Prosecutor Mrs Jennie Rickman said: “When officers asked if there were any drugs in his vehicle he said: ‘Yes, they are under the passenger seat’. Officers found a 500gm solid white block of cocaine.”

During interview, Summers said he had been desperate for money and had agreed to carry out a delivery job, in exchange for £300 but no money had changed hands.

In Summers’s defence, the court heard that “the need for money had over-ruled common sense”.

He knew he had been carrying “something unlawful” but had not tampered with the package, believing it contained cannabis.

Summers had been approached “by a friend of a friend” to transport the drugs and his role was described as that of a “mule”.

The court was told how grandfather Summers had used his skills to restore panelling in St George’s Hall, the largest of Windsor Castle’s state apartments, after a fire on November 20 1992.

The offence was described as “a catastrophic blunder” and he was deeply ashamed of his actions.

Sentencing Summers, Recorder Paul Lasok QC told him the offence was “extremely serious” and warranted a prison sentence, adding: “You knew, from the outset that you had drugs in your possession and yet you still carried on transporting them.”