A chef has been cleared of flinging packets of cannabis over the walls of a prison.

Sanchez Simmons said his DNA was discovered on blocks of cannabis inside Maidstone prison was because he liked to smell the drug before buying.

Simmons, 29, from Milton Keynes, Bucks,was found not guilty of being part of a deal which saw 250g of hash, valued at £6,250 to lags, being found inside the prison.

The chef told a jury at Maidstone Crown Court he had never been to the Kent town "in his life" before the trial.

He said his DNA was on the package in 2017 because he smoked £30 worth of cannabis a day and handled a lot of wrapping to smell and feel it before buying.

Simmons, told the court: “I have never been to Maidstone in my life.”

"It is usual for me to feel the product and to smell it, that is why my DNA was found...” Sanchez Simmons

“I smoke a lot of cannabis, about £30 a day - it is usual for me to feel the product and to smell it, that is why my DNA was found.”

Simmons had denied possessing drugs with intent to supply after packages flung over the wall of HMP Maidstone.

A prison officer found two packages containing 250g of cannabis after he spotted a prisoner putting one of them down his pants.

Simmons’ DNA was allegedly found on the plastic of one of the bags and inside the wrapping covering the cannabis resin.

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