Darren Partington from 808 State has been jailed for 18 months after dealing heroin and crack cocaine in an effort to pay off drug debts.

The DJ has been a member of the Manuncian house pioneers for 35 years, but an ongoing drug problem and a £300 debt reportedly led to threats against himself and his family by his dealer.

In an effort to pay off his debts, Partinton began dealing hard drugs, and was found by police with 16 wraps of heroin and eight wraps of cocaine. As the Manchester Evening News reports, his phone was found to contain threatening texts from his gangland boss.

Despite the success of his group, Partington's defence lawyer says he was making as little as £7,000 a year from DJing, and was "easy prey" for his dealer.

Partington did not ask his lawyer to plead for a community sentence, and simply nodded when the sentence of 18 months in prison was passed.