cocaine mistaken for haribo

A man who was arrested after children found snap-bags of cocaine among their trick-or-treat sweets has pleaded guilty to possession of drugs.

Donald Green, 33, told magistrates he had meant to give the children a bag of sweets when they visited his house on Halloween, instead he said he accidentally handed them £200 worth of the Class A drug.

Green, from Sycamore Avenue, Chadderton, told magistrates he would not have knowingly given the drugs to children, and said he was mortified by his 'terrible mistake' - which he only discovered when he felt inside his trousers for the cocaine and pulled out a packet of Haribo sweets instead.

Realising his mistake, Green told the court he attempted to get the cocaine back and searched the streets for the children - but could not find them.

The court heard the father of the children, who was an off-duty police officer, discovered the drugs when the children returned home and emptied their bags of sweets. He reported the incident to his colleagues, who later arrested Green.

When police arrived at his house he told the court he knew exactly why they were there.

Steven Sullivan, defending, said that Green had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

He said: “This was an accidental act. It was grossly foolhardy. It was not deliberate. It was not premeditated.”

He is due to be sentenced later.