Skipton is in the grip of a growing drug problem spreading across North Yorkshire, a crown Court judge warned this week.

Judge Roger Scott made his remarks on Wednesday before jailing Christopher Palmer for 15 months after he was caught possessing heroin at the town's police station.

He said: "Skipton has a growing and burgeoning drugs culture and it is a very serious problem in North Yorkshire."

Bradford Crown Court heard how Christopher Palmer had been in a Skipton car park with his girlfriend when six police officers swooped on his vehicle last March. In a bid to drive away, he reversed the car and collided with a taxi.

Prosecutor Edward Bindloss said Palmer then sped along High Street in Skipton during the mid-afternoon, going through a red light and overtaking two cars. The vehicle was found a short time later by a police officer who spotted Palmer and his girlfriend.

They were arrested and taken to a police station where both were found to have bags of heroin hidden on their bodies.

Mitigating, Caroline Wigin said Palmer was a despondent young man who faced the inevitability of a custodial sentence.

Palmer, 28, of Keighley Road, Cross Hills pleaded guilty to supplying heroin, possessing heroin and dangerous driving. He was also banned from driving for 12 months.

After the hearing, Chief Insp Ron Johnson, who was based at Skipton until last year, said: "The judge is right. There is certainly a drugs problem in the county and it is getting particularly bad in the Skipton area."

Chief Insp Johnson said a county-wide police campaign - Operation Artery - had confirmed officers' suspicions about the hidden drug situation.

Between December and February, 340 North Yorkshire dealers were arrested, £81,000 of drugs seized and £53,000 worth of assets confiscated. Within the same time, 376 crimes were solved and stolen goods to the tune of £35,500 recovered.

In Skipton, although only £360 of cannabis was seized, the amount of heroin discovered by officers stood at £1,250. There was £300 worth of crack cocaine, £270 of ecstasy and £85 worth of amphetamine recovered through the raids.

"I think that three month period was typical of the different kinds of drugs and kinds of activities going on around Skipton," said Chief Insp Johnson.

He added that the problem in Skipton - fuelled by supplies from adjacent urban areas - was quickly spreading to outlying rural spots.

He said police resources were being thrown into the fight against drugs and that ongoing intelligence gathering was fingering the dealers.

But he conceded: "There is a problem that when you take one dealer out, there is often someone there to fill the vacuum."

He said the ongoing police operations were not only placing offenders in jail but also breaking the cycle of offending.