DRUG addict Stewart Donachie, who stepped into the shoes of heroin dealers when they were jailed after a massive undercover police operation, has been sent to prison.

Donachie 31, built up a customer base of about 25 after about three months of selling the killer drug from his home in Pipsmore Road, Chippenham.

But now a judge sitting at Swindon Crown Court has sentenced him to four year behind bars.

Donachie told police that he started dealing in heroin because of the shortage of pushers in the town after the Operation Cirrus drugs bust, which saw 13 offenders jailed for between 15 months and three-and-a-half years.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said police became aware that he was dealing and launched a surveillance operation at his home. "They were monitoring his activities and on a number of days they set up observations at his address and watched known addicts going in and coming out," he said.

"A number were stopped and each were found to be in possession of a small quantity of heroin, typically 0.1g which retails at £10.

"Police therefore, having gained evidence of dealing, decided that they would stop him when next they believed he had been to purchase drugs.

"And so on September 24 the vehicle he was travelling in from Bristol to Chippenham was stopped and he was arrested."

Mr Meek said there was a short struggle, after which officers found a small amount of cocaine in the car. A later body search carried out by a doctor revealed that Donachie had hidden a condom containing drugs in his rectum.

The condom contained 7g of heroin, with a street value of £700, and 0.8g of crack cocaine, worth £80. They also recovered £340 in cash from him, but Mr Meeke said it was accepted that £105 of that was his incapacity benefit. When he was interviewed by police he accepted that he was dealing heroin but told officers that the crack cocaine was for his own use.

Mr Meeke said Donachie was heavily addicted to heroin and would go to Kingswood in Bristol to obtain supplies sometimes once a day, sometimes every two days.

"He would fund his own habit by selling at a profit to pay for his own drugs that he used," said Mr Meeke.

"He was making a profit and his general living out of it. He himself got through a very large quantity of heroin."

He said Donachie had 58 previous convictions, including 13 drug offences and was jailed for a year in 1999 for dealing cannabis.

Donachie pleaded guilty to four counts of supplying heroin between July 25 and September 5, possessing it with intent to supply on September 24, possessing crack cocaine on the same date and possessing heroin on September 11.

Robin Shellard, defending, said Donachie had been remanded in custody since being arrested and was now drug- free.

"Ironically being caught was the best thing that could happen to him in the short or medium term," said Mr Shellard.

"It has saved his life. In effect he was trying to kill himself in the last few months of this year."

Mr Shellard said Donachie started sniffing butane as a 12-year-old and soon after began using every drug known to the courts.

Jailing him for four years, Judge Tom Longbotham said: "Dealing in class A drugs, it must be understood, will not be tolerated by these courts. Those who deal in class A drugs go to prison and go to prison for a long time."