SPECIAL SERVICE

The 72-Year-Old Milkman Who Delivered Cannabis On His Daily Rounds

Delivering a little extra something along with the daily pinta was all
part of the service offered by elderly milkman, Robert Holding.

But instead of the usual orders for extra eggs or a bottle of orange
juice some of his customers would make most unusual requests.

For next to the empty milk bottles, Holding would often find a polite
handwritten note asking for some cannabis with the next delivery.

So Holding, 72, would place a small bar of the drug into an empty egg
box and place it on the doorstep the following morning.

When he was caught by police, Holding told officers he would only ever
supply pensioners with the drug to help them with their 'aches and
pains.'

Today a judge told the elderly milkman his special delivery service
would inevitably lead to a spell behind bars.

Burnley Crown Court heard the elderly milkman only delivered to
pensioners on his delivery round who had found out about his extra
service by word of mouth.

Just like building a milkround, the grandfather had 17 drug customers
who would regularly leave a note asking for cannabis.

Acting on information, police launched an undercover operation and
watched the milkman as he delivered milk on his regular round.

They said customers would leave out handwritten notes with their empty
milk bottles requesting him to leave the Class C drugs with his next
delivery.

Holding then stashed small blocks of cannabis resin in egg boxes which
he then left on customers' doorsteps along with their milk.

During an operation lasting several weeks, police watched the
defendant before arresting the pensioner at his home in Burnley, Lancashire.

During a search of the house, officers found 167 grams of the Class C
drug and he was charged with supplying the drug.

In a police interview Holding accepted he had supplied cannabis resin
to 17 households while on his milk delivery round.

Phil Holden, defending, said Holding had built up his home delivery
drug-dealing round through word of mouth and only dealt to pensioners.

He said: 'The defendant, in police interview, mentioned who he dealt
to. He said it was for elderly people with aches and pains.

'Those who he supplied, and there were not many, were through word of
mouth and his customers were all of a certain age.'

Mr Holden said the grandfather supplied a small bar of cannabis to his
regular customers every three to four weeks.

Holding appeared in court charged with two counts of supplying and
possessing cannabis resin between April 1 and July 18 this year.

Wearing blue jeans and a scruffy dark jersey, an unkempt Holding
pleaded guilty to the charges before being warned he faced a prison
sentence.

Adjourning the case, Judge Beverley Lunt said Holding, who has
previous convictions but none for drug dealing, faced an inevitable
jail sentence.

Judge Lunt said: 'You must understand these are serious offences and
in my judgment the likely outcome is an immediate custodial sentence.'

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report. Holding was released
on bail and will be sentenced at Burnley Crown Court on February 6.