A 42-year-old Shropshire taxi driver who sold the drug “meow meow” from his private hire car has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Simon Perry was found with 11 bags of the Class B drug mephedrone by police when his taxi was stopped in Oswestry last year.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday Perry was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work. Recorder Nigel Baker QC said it was a “sad state of affairs” to see a man in court for the first time and for the criminal distribution of drugs.

“You were involved for gain because you were short of money and to fund your own habit, and while you have kept your liberty, you have lost your good character,” he said.

Perry, of Maple Avenue, Oswestry, had admitted two offences of supplying Class B drugs and possession of the drug with intent to supply in July and August last year.

Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said police became aw-are of Perry’s activities and his Rover car was stopped at 2am in New Street, Oswestry, in September.

He said one bag of the drug was found in the driver’s footwell and 10 others were between the driver’s seat and the centre console.

“There was nine grammes of the mephedrone, commonly known as meow meow, and there was between £180 and £200 worth of the drug,” he said.

He said police later recovered £740 in cash, a mobile phone and a list of names and text messages relating to the supply of drugs.

Mr Jones said Perry was a licensed private hire driver with Harmony Taxis and had been supplying drugs to passengers.

A confiscation application under the Proceeds of Crime Act against Perry was adjourned for him to provide details of his financial status. The court heard Perry, who had previously worked for the Post Office for 17 years, had been a taxi driver in Oswestry for the past four years, but his licence had since been revoked.

Mr Mike Sherwood-Smith, for Perry, said his client had been introduced to the Class B drug when it was known as a “legal high” and gained some notoriety before being criminalised.

He said Perry used it as a recreational drug when he had marriage problems and financial difficulties.

Mr Sherwood-Smith said “He was supplying to friends and associates, but carried on after the drug was criminalised in April last year. The money was ploughed into paying his debts.”

By Arthur Mills