REGGAE STAR JAILED OVER CANNABIS FIND

A TOP reggae star has been jailed for eight months after being caught
with cannabis he intended to supply to other users.

Berris Simpson, who once went into Manchester's Strangeways prison to
record his own work in front of inmates, is now behind bars after a
judge told him: "This is so serious only a jail term can be justified."

Jamaican-born Simpson, who has also performed with the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra, bowed his head and thanked the judge after
being sentenced at Manchester crown court.

The 51-year-old singer was arrested after police raided at his home in
Townfield Walk, Hulme, last February and discovered 100 grammes of
cannabis skunk some of which had been packed into "street deals".

Simpson admitted having the cannabis but said it was part of his
Rastafarian religion and claimed he had no intention of supplying it
to others. He was convicted of having cannabis with intent to supply.