A drug dealer will need to sell his home after a judge ordered him to pay back £187,000 made from his criminal exploits.

Brinley Jones, from Ramsgate, was given the order in court after police investigated his six-year criminal career when he was caught dealing drugs and money laundering.

Detectives discovered £40,000 in cash and bags of amphetamine in the freezer of his house in Mallory Close during a search in June 2017.

The 69-year-old was arrested after the money was found, which Jones failed to account for, following an investigation by Kent Police's Financial Investigation Unit.

Police used their powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act to force Jones to pay back the money in the next three months - forcing him to sell his home.

He denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court last year and handed a 12-month suspended prison sentence and told to carry out 150 hours community service.

Jones was back in court last week for a hearing to explain how he made his money after police believed he had been profiting from dealing drugs.

Det Ch Insp Patrick Milford from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: "We made an application for a Confiscation Order under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which is legislation we can use to claim back money that offenders have gained through crime.

"He is now been forced to pay the price and will have to sell his home in order to do that over the next three months.

"Kent Police doesn’t stop at the point of conviction and we will continue to use the full extent of the law to seek justice."

Money recovered from the Proceeds of Crime Act is investigated back to crime preventions agencies including the police and the Home Office which puts the money back into police forces around the country.

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet