A CARLISLE plumber accused with another man of conspiring to smuggle eight Albanian men into the UK has given his evidence before a jury.

At the city’s Crown Court, 35-year-old Paul Watson said the reason for his trip to Belgium in August 2020, described by the prosecution as a “dry run” for a people smuggling operation a few weeks later, was to buy cigarettes.

He and his co-defendant Neil Sowerby, 57, deny being a part of the plot.

In his evidence, Watson said he and Sowerby, of Petteril Street, Carlisle, had earlier discussed having a “booze cruise” style trip to Belgium.

He wanted to buy mainly cigarettes, while Sowerby’s intention was to buy mainly alcohol.

The prosecution has challenged the men’s claim that they were "innocently caught up in" a people smuggling operation that involved a man they knew.

Under questioning from defence barrister Kim Whittlestone, Watson said he and Sowerby had discussed the booze cruise idea during lockdown. “He was going to get cigarettes and whisky,” he said, referring to his co-defendant.

Asked how much tobacco he would buy, he said: “Twelve hundred pounds worth – it was money from cash jobs.” He said he hoped to “double his money” by selling on the tobacco at a profit. His father also gave him money for the same purpose.

They decided on a trip to Ghent in Belgium because Sowerby knew the city, having spent time there in the past.

The barrister then questioned Watson about 30-year-old Francis Pattinson, who at an earlier court hearing admitted conspiring to help foreign nationals breach immigration law.

Watson said he first learned that Pattinson would be on the trip when he ordered the Eurotunnel tickets and said he “wondered why” he was joining them.

On August 7, 2020, Watson and Sowerby had each driven from Carlisle  “in convoy” for the trip to France and then Belgium, with him in one vehicle and Sowerby and Pattinson in another.

While in Belgium, he had gone on alone to a place near Brussels to buy the cigarettes he wanted.

The defendant was then quizzed about a phone call he received on August 22 while he was in Carlisle at a barbecue. “It was Frank on the other end,” he said, explaining that the other man's voice sounded 'panicked'.

He was asked to call a number but there was no answer, he said. Pattinson gave him a second number, but he never rang it.

Miss Whittlestone asked: “Did you know that Mr Pattinson was involved in organising people to be brought into the country illegally?”

The defendant said he did not know that. He confirmed giving the police the PIN number for his phone, saying he had hidden nothing from the officers who questioned him.

When he found out about a people smuggling operation, he had not reacted. He said: “I didn’t think it affected me; I thought 'I hope I don’t get pulled into this'. It didn’t worry me, to be honest.”

Asked why, he replied: “Because I’m innocent.”

In earlier questioning, Watson accepted that when police went to his home in April 2021, they found 368g of cannabis flowering heads. He later pleaded guilty to possessing the drug with intent to supply.

Watson accepted that he had used the drug since he was 15 because it helped him to cope with his ADHD, a condition he was diagnosed with at primary school.

“I was relying on it,” he said. He sold the drug to friends.

Since the police were at his home, he had changed his lifestyle, going “cold turkey” and no longer uses the drug. He said he had sorted himself out by taking up yoga and skateboarding, which help him work off excess energy.

In a statement, his wife described Watson as a person who was “always a kind, genuine, and hard-working man, who was loving and trustworthy, and dedicated to his family.” He was also a time-served plumber of 20 years standing.

Under cross-examination from prosecutor Christopher Rose, Watson suggested that Francis Pattinson may have “invited himself” on that first trip to Belgium. Asked how Sowerby reacted to Pattinson joining the trip, he said: “He seemed quite shocked.”

Asked what Sowerby thought of Pattinson, he replied: “That he’s a bit of a nutcase.” He denied being part of Pattinson’s “circle of friends.”

Watson said he had previously provided cannabis to Pattinson, describing him as “a bit scary.”

Watson, from Brisco, Carlisle, said he had a drug debt of £800 but had saved up £1,200 from cash jobs. The trip was a way to make more money, he said.

Mr Rose suggested Watson’s debt was “much greater” that he had described and he had joined the conspiracy to raise the money to pay off those debts. "No," replied Watson. 

Mr Rose asked: "Is this account one you have just made up?”

“No," replied Watson.

“You were desperate for money because of the debts,” suggested Mr Rose.

Again, Watson said: “No.”

The trial continues.