A drug dealer went on a crime spree burgling premises and causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

On December 3, 2023, police saw Nicholas Huggins exit an address in Mount Pleasant Road, Hastings, and said he was acting suspiciously.

He was seen around 30 minutes later exiting the same address and officers followed him and witnessed a suspected drug deal in Hughenden Road.

When Huggins was approached and detained, he dropped a plastic bag containing 16 wraps of crack cocaine.

He was arrested and following a search of his property in Mount Pleasant Road, a bag containing large amounts of crack cocaine and heroin was found.

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While he was on bail for this incident, he committed a burglary series between March 21 and April 6 in the town.

On March 21, Huggins attempted to enter a store in High Street and caused £400 worth of damage to the front door. He was unsuccessful in entering.

Later that day, he tried another business on the same street but again had no luck in breaking in and caused damage to the door.

On March 31, Huggins forced entry into a business in St Andrews Market and stole a phone.

A week later, on April 6, he smashed a window of a store in Queen’s Road and stole four laptops. He was then arrested.

The 36-year-old was charged with possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, two counts of attempted burglary and two counts of burglary. He pleaded guilty to all charges.

He also admitted to committing 25 other burglaries in the Hastings area, which were taken into consideration at sentencing.

He was sentenced to a total of four years and two months’ imprisonment when appearing before Lewes Crown Court on October 9.

Detective Constable Auryn Liddiard said: “We will continue to identify those selling these dangerous Class A drugs on our streets and stop them.

“Huggins broke his bail conditions and continued his offending, this time targeting local businesses, who should not have to deal with this behaviour.

“He was a drug dealer intent on causing harm to others, for his own financial gain. The sentencing of Huggins shows how seriously the courts deal with those pedalling Class A drugs in our community, and those who cause distress.”