Jury to consider its verdict today

Judge David Ticehurst began his summing up at Bristol Crown Court yesterday in the case against Mark Kirwan, 42, of Farrfield, Upper Stratton, Craig Wanless, 27, of Braydon Court, Penhill, Richard Brinsdon, 34, of Penhill Drive, Penhill, Graham Stratton, 32, of Ebbw Vale, South Wales, Colin Roy Butler, 58, and his wife Rose Winifred Butler, 54, of Bermondsey, London, who all deny conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Colin John Butler, 35, of Bermondsey, and Stratton deny conspiring to supply cannabis, but the others admit it.

Vincent Gibbs, 37, of Croft Road, Old Town, and William Livingstone, 35, of Lyndhurst Crescent, Park North, have admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis and cocaine.

The defendants' lawyers made their cases yesterday.

Charles Row, for Wanless, said that the self-confessed addict was not part of the inner circle of the alleged conspiracy.

His fingerprints were discovered on cash found in the Butlers' safety deposit box, but that was not evidence that a high-powered cocaine dealer was likely to leave.

When he met Gibbs he already bought his cocaine on credit from a dealer called Keith.

There was a time when he was awash with cash and lived the high life, but got badly into debt.

Trying to trade himself out of it, he had sold a consignment of cannabis to a man called Ellis at Yates's Wine Lodge in Swindon. But Ellis had not paid.

Defence counsel Trevor Berriman said that Colin Roy and Rose Winifred Butler were guilty of the cannabis charge, but it did not follow that their son Colin John was guilty.

His parents had told him they had been selling tobacco from the continent.

"As a result of their lies to him he has been caught up in this," said Mr Berriman.

Graham Stratton was a consumer at the end of the chain, said Alan Large defending.

He did cash-in-hand jobs on the side, saved money and bought his drugs when he could afford them.

He had paid off a £9,000 debt with a loan from his father-in- law, ex-Wiltshire police officer Gary Cook.

Mr Large said that a lot of police resources had been put into surveillance, but there were no references to Stratton being involved, picking up payments or delivering drugs.

Only £10 worth of cannabis was found at his address and there was no evidence of him selling cocaine.

During the trial the jury heard that at one stage Vincent Gibbs owed Colin Butler senior £94,000 for drugs.

Butler insisted that it was all for cannabis.

The judge is expected finish his summing up this morning.

Tina Clarke