Men jailed for total of 181 years for supply of class A drugs

70 men have been jailed for a total of 181 years for their part in the supply of Class A drugs on the streets of Bristol.

In the biggest operation of its kind in Avon and Somerset to tackle what the judge called "an epidemic of offending" the men - and one woman - are all starting sentences behind bars after five days of back-to-back court hearings.

The offenders were brought to the attention of police after a stream of complaints from members of the public.

In October police held a series of co-ordinated raids targeting some of the city's most prolific offenders, centring on the Easton and St Paul's area of Bristol.

In October our cameras were given access to the raids which were six months in the planning and brought nearly 100 officers into the mix.

The police found large sums of money hidden in a kitchen drawer and multiple mobile phones used in the illegal drugs trade.