A man from Herne Bay has been jailed for 14 years for his role in a sophisticated Merseyside drugs gang.

Stephen Comfort, 47, of Priestfields, was sentenced on Wednesday after he was convicted of helping to flood the streets of Liverpool with heroin and crack cocaine.

He was arrested in April last year as part of a crackdown on a drugs gang operating in an area north of the city.

The investigation targeted street-level drug dealers, their controllers, couriers, safe house managers, importers and armourers.

Part of the evidence used to convict Comfort centred on a meeting he had in Kent with Merseyside drug courier Daniel Finnan, 24.

Comfort was also known to have met with Joshua Avis, 25, a prominent player in the drugs gang, at Watford Gap motorway services.

Finnan and Avis both pleaded guilty to possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court in November. Finnan was jailed eight years and Avis for 13 years.

The Merseyside operation resulted in 14 people pleading guilty to a range of drugs offences, involving class A and B substances. Firearms were also recovered during raids in Merseyside.