MILKMAN SOLD DRUGS TO ELDERLY

A British milkman who admitted he delivered cannabis as well as pints
of milk to elderly customers to ease their aches and pains, was
spared jail on Friday.

Robert Holding, 72, from Burnley, told police he supplied the drug to
17 customers after detectives raided his home and found nearly 167
grams of cannabis in an egg crate in the van he used for deliveries.

"He said he sold the cannabis to existing customers because they were
old and had aches and pains," said prosecutor Sarah Statham.

"He said he sold a nine ounce (255 gram) bar about every three weeks
and sold it for a relatively cheap value. He said that customers left
him notes saying, for example, 'Can I have an ounce this week or can
I have an eighth.' "

Holding, who admitted supplying and possession of the drug at a
previous hearing, was given a 36-month prison sentence suspended for
a year at Burnley Crown Court on Friday, the Press Association reported.

Judge Beverley Lunt told him the sentence was "an act of mercy"
because he visited his wife, who has Alzheimer's disease, every day
in a care home.

"You were not some philanthropist helping out the elderly out of the
good of your heart. You dealt drugs for profit in a calculated way.
It was a business," the judge told him.

His lawyer Philip Holden said his client "wasn't making much of a
profit" and that his oldest client was 92.