A MAN previously convicted of drug dealing did not return to his old ways because of his experiences in prison and a bail hostel, a court heard.

At Bolton Crown Court, Nicholas Knowles, aged 25, denied he was involved in operations for the “Tommy” gang, selling drugs to users in Bolton, Bury and Salford between July 2013 and May 2015. Four other men – Cameron Johnson, Dylan Robinson, Nathan Dagnall and Noel Cowan have already pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Knowles of Ambleside Avenue, Bury, said: “I had just spent time in custody and didn’t have a very nice time in there and had to spend time in a hostel with people who had done disgusting crimes. It just wasn’t worth it to do it again. I didn’t conspire with any of them, I was not supplying Class A drugs.”

The court heard Knowles was in prison between 2011 and 2013 for selling drugs. He added: “I was young and involved with the wrong people. I was pressured into doing what I did.” The prosecution maintains that Knowles’ defence that he was not involved in selling drugs, but in counterfeit cash, is false.

The trial continues.