A Witham man has been jailed for two and a half years for his part in a plot to supply cocaine worth up to £1million.

John Middleton, 60, of Wulvesford in Witham, was arrested in May 2013 after he collected a package containing 500 grams of the Class A drug from James Chrysostomou in Leigh-on-Sea.

Chrysostomou, 48, of Woodcote Road, Leigh-on-Sea, and Andrew Pritchard, 48, of Blenheim Close, Leigh-on-Sea, were jailed for 16 and 15 years respectively.

All three men were found guilty of possession with intent to supply cocaine.

After Middleton was arrested, officers from the Specialist Crime and Operations Command allowed Chrysostomou and Pritchard to carry on their drug dealing business.

They watched as the pair drove from their home town to Maplestead Road in Dagenham where they met a man, who police called 'D', who put a package into Chrysostomou’s car.

Pritchard and Chrysostomou drove back towards Essex, but they were stopped by officers on the A13 after trying to force a police car off the road.

Both men were arrested and 6kg of cocaine was found in Dutch supermarket carrier bags inside the car.

Police said this consignment would have cost about £250,000 wholesale and could have a street value of up to £1 million.

Detective Sergeant Nicola Hawkins, of the Organised Crime Command, said: "Pritchard and Chrysostomou were sophisticated criminals who sought to evade arrest and destroy evidence by trying to force a police car off the road and throwing mobile phones into the road.

"Through the skill and determination of officers, they were arrested on the A13 with nobody sustaining injuries, and the mobile phones were recovered and played a key part in securing guilty verdicts.

"I am pleased that Pritchard and Chrysostomou in particular have been given substantial jail sentences.

“I hope these will dissuade others from believing that dealing in Class A drugs is a risk worth taking."

A man who officers believed to be 'D' was also arrested in November 2013.

He was found not guilty of supplying Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court on October 17, 2014