A GYM boss who peddled steroids to members and allowed the premises to be used for dealing heroin and cocaine has been jailed.

Richard Scott, 29, who owns and runs Ironworx in Greenbridge Road, knew some of his customers were using his premises to sell the hard drugs.

The day before police raided the gym last summer, Scott said he found a package containing almost £1,000 worth of the drugs, which he put in a filing cabinet.

Officers also found a cocktail of body building drugs in the same drawer, including nandrolone and testosterone, which he admitted he supplied to customers.

Chris Smyth, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court how police raided the gym shortly after midday on Monday, June 8, last year.

He said Scott, of Munro Close, Walcot, was working at the time they arrived and behind the reception they found the hard drugs in the filing cabinet.

In an orange plastic package they found 13 grams of heroin, in another package three and a half grams of cocaine and a heat sealed bag with a small amount of crack cocaine.

Officers found a bag hidden in the suspended ceiling upstairs at the gym, which contained heroin and crack cocaine worth more than £2,500.

In the filing cabinet police also discovered seven quantities of testosterone totalling 38ml, 15ml of nandrolone in five quantities, 79 tablets of stanozolol, 10 tablets of mesterolone, 10ml of trendolone and 10ml of dromostanolone.

Police also seized seized £870 cash.

When he was questioned Scott said they were all steroids for body building, some of which he sold to some of the body builders who used the club.

He admitted he sometimes got Viagra for them but denied he had anything to do with dealing hard drugs.

The day before the raid he said he found the heroin and cocaine which was in the filing cabinet stashed in a corner and realised it was something ‘not good’.

He said he didn’t know how it got there and also insisted he had no knowledge of the drugs in the ceiling.

Scott pleaded guilty to two counts of allowing premises to be used for the supply of class-A drugs and six of possessing class-C drugs with intent to supply.

He had been charged with possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, which he denied, but admitted the alternative charges of allowing his premises to be used for drug dealing on the morning of trial.

Rob Ross, defending, said his client had been aware that drugs were being dealt at the gym because of items found on the premises.

He said he ‘turned a blind eye’ to what was going on and after finding the drugs the day before was waiting for someone to ask for them back.

Mr Ross told the court Scott had never been in trouble with the police before and was associating with some people at the gym who he should not have.

He said Scott was a gullible man who would do anything to help anyone and if he were jailed would almost certainly lose his business and probably his home.

Jailing Scott, Judge Euan Ambrose said: “If you are associated with the supply of class-A drugs you can expect to go to prison.

“You were in charge of a gym; you were responsible to ensure it was run properly and within the law. You turned a blind eye to serious criminality.”