A TEENAGER was caught with hundreds of pounds’ worth of crack cocaine and heroin hidden in his “distinctive” deerstalker hat.

And it did not take Sherlock Holmes to work out the youngster was dealing hard drugs on the streets of Salisbury.

Police were tipped off that Joel Wilson, 19, was dealing in the city and spotted him leaving a house in Carmelite Way, Salisbury, at 2.45am on November 5, 2016.

After a struggle, officers found 173 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin in two pockets in his hat, as well as 12 in his hooded sweater.

The wraps were all worth £10, meaning the drugs had a total street value of £1,850.

Police also found £205 in cash in bag belonging to Wilson, as well as a phone used as a “drug line”.

He gave no comment at interview but later pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Wilson, originally from London, appeared at Salisbury Crown Court by video link from HMP Winchester where he was already swerving a four-year jail term for a robbery at knifepoint and an attempted robbery, both in Croydon.

Defending, Thomas Acworth said Wilson had committed the robberies to pay his criminal bosses for the drugs the police had seized.

He said it was a “stupid mistake” and Wilson had shown “a degree of naivety”, but accepted his motive had been greed.

“He didn’t fully appreciate the world into which he was entering,” he said.

Judge Douglas Field said adding three years to Wilson’s current four-year term would be “unjust”.

He said: “The most merciful way I can deal with this, reflecting the seriousness of this offending, is to impose a sentence of twelve months imprisonment, but it will be consecutive to your present sentence.

“So you are in fact facing a term of five years, rather than four years.”

Wilson was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment for possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

Mitigating, Mr Acworth said the drugs had been of low purity, at around 35-40 per cent.

PC Luke Barnett, of the Dedicated Crime Team, said: “Wilson is a drug dealer who came to Salisbury from London with the sole purpose of supplying class A drugs to vulnerable users within the city.

"Drug dealers like Wilson do not care about how the drugs they sell destroy lives, all they care about is earning money by any means possible regardless of the consequences.

"We will not tolerate this behaviour and will do all that we can to seek people like Wilson out and put them before the courts.

“I would encourage anyone who suspects drug use in their area to report it via 101.”

Prosecutor Rob Welling told the Journal that Wilson's offending followed a familiar pattern known as "cuckooing".

Drug dealers from big cities “infest” the home of drug addicts in other towns to use as a base for dealing.