A CONVICTED drug dealer has failed to persuade a senior judge that the curfew he was given as an alternative to jail should end early so he can go to music festivals.

Carlisle man Rory Bailey, 28, was given the ten-month curfew by a crown court Recorder after he admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply and being concerned in supplying the class A drug over more than two years.

Recorder Julian Shaw drew back from imposing an immediate jail term after hearing that the defendant, of Boundary Road, Currock, had sought professional help for his drug use and “turned is life around.”

During a 20-minute hearing at the city’s crown court, the defendant sought to persuade another judge that his curfew should be scaled back to fit in with his social plans.

“He wants the court to remove the curfew so he can go to music festivals,” defence lawyer Jeff Smith told Judge Nicholas Barker.

Bailey also wanted the curfew ended early so that he could take a holiday.

The lawyer said that the defendant wished to have "only" the final 13 days of a 300 day curfew cancelled, pointing out that Bailey’s offending dated back some time – spanning the period from June, 2020, to July, 2022.

The defendant had already showed that he had rehabilitated himself, said Mr Smith. Judge Nicholas Barker said he could see no valid justification for interfering with the sentence imposed by Recorder Shaw.

He pointed out that sentencing guidelines for the offending involve a suggested a starting sentence of four and a half years in jail. Bailey’s sentence had been reduced because of his mitigation, and because of the delay in

Judge Barker told the defendant: “You have come to court asking permission to be allowed to go to such matters as music festivals. I remind myself that you received a sentence at this court of imprisonment…

“It was imposed on April 15; you were given a two year sentence and that was a sentence the court suspended because they considered there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”

Judge Barker said he was quite sure that Recorder Shaw had balanced that suspended sentence with the need for punishment. The lengthy curfew order was imposed, said the judge, as a “direct alternative” to locking Bailey up.

The curfew was the “punitive element” of the sentence.

If the requested change was to allow the defendant to, for example, take up a job, the court may look at that differently.

The desire to take a holiday or attend a music festival was not a "proper reason" for altering the curfew, said the judge.

 “There is no prospect at all of me altering or suspending the curfew to allow you to attend such an event,” added Judge Barker.

At the sentence hearing in April, the court heard that Bailey was caught red-handed as he drove a Peugeot van close to Junction 41 of the M6 northbound on 21st July 2022.

Noticing that he was “anxious, nervous and fidgety,” the officers carried out a search and discovered high purity cocaine weighing in at 348g — potentially worth up to £43,500 if sold on the street.

He later said he regarded his arrest as a “relief”, telling a probation officer that his drug problem had started when he was 14, and adding: “My addiction was a curse.”

Recorder Shaw told him: “There isn’t a day that goes by in a crown court in this country that isn’t concerned with offenders dealing in drugs. The misery it brings to people who are addicted, as you were, is untold.”