Oleksandr Galamon, 27, was arrested on the evening of 19 December last year after being caught with £650 worth of heroin and crack cocaine on him.

Neighbourhood officers were on patrol in the Millfield area when they were alerted by CCTV operators about a group of about ten people who had gathered in the Russell Street underpass – a place where drug users are known to frequent.

As they approached, officers heard a woman shout “police, police are here!”

Galamon began walking away from the group but ran as officers got nearer, however came face-to-face with one officer.

He was detained for a search which uncovered 65 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin, £250 in cash and a can of pepper spray – a prohibited firearm.

Galamon, of Eastfield Road, Peterborough, appeared at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday (Thursday) where he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine, as well as being in possession of a weapon designed for the discharge of a noxious liquid – namely pepper spray.

Sergeant Sarah Phillips, from the eastern Peterborough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have been focussing a lot of our time in the Millfield area, including Russell Street, as we have had a lot of feedback from the local community about drug dealing and other issues such as anti-social behaviour here.

“We will continue our work in this area, but I would encourage the public to keep reporting information and concerns to us so we can act on it and hopefully put more drug dealers before the courts.”