City street cleaner planned to flood T in the Park with heroin

Nicky Hood stocked up on the Class A drug in the week before around 200,000 music fans descended on the Perthshire festival site last year.

The Edinburgh council street cleaner was expecting to make thousands of pounds over last year’s festival weekend by flogging off small deals of the killer drug to music revellers.

But his plans were scuppered when police raided his home and uncovered around £20,000 of the drug the day before the festival in July last year.

Police officers searched the dad-of-three’s Edinburgh flat following an anonymous tip off and also seized £2681 in cash.

Hood, 29, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of diamorphine from his home at Sleigh Drive between March 1 and July 6 last year when he previously appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

He returned yesterday for sentencing where Sheriff Frank Crowe ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Hood was also handed a three-month Restriction of Liberty Order banning him from being outdoors between 10pm and 5am.

Last year’s music extravaganza – headlined by Manchester legends The Stone Roses, Scots DJ Calvin Harris and US rockers The Red Hot Chilli Peppers – was blighted by three drug-related deaths including two teenagers.

Previously, fiscal depute Roseanne Chapman told the court Hood planned on selling off his drug stash at last year’s T in the Park weekend which attracted more than 200,000 music fans over the three days.

Ms Chapman said: “[During a police interview] he said he had been buying small quantities but had been getting busier and decided to buy bigger quantities. He said he had bought a larger amount [that week] as he was planning on going to T in the Park and his intention was to supply [heroin] at the event.”

Ms Chapman also said the Crown was seeking a compensation order for the cash which was seized during the police raid on July 6 last year.

Solicitor David Allan, defending, said: “This is obviously a serious case. I can say in relation to the confiscation order there is no issue with that.

“He fully understands custody is a serious option here. He was honest and candid during the [police] interview. But it was a commercial operation and he was making money out of it and we can’t get away from that.”

Mr Allan added Hood had begun dealing drugs despite being in full-time employment because he “was finding it difficult to make ends meet”.

Sheriff Crowe told Hood: “This is a very serious matter and I am entitled to send you to prison because it does seem to be you were dealing in drugs though you didn’t seem to be much of a user.

“What the court has to do is consider passing a sentence that stops you being a player.

“But what am I prepared to do is make a 12-month community payback order.”