NEIGHBOURS of a Witney drug dealer have reacted with shock to news that cocaine was being sold by a man living on their quiet street.

s=8Michael Smith, 44, of Park Road, is now serving a two-year jail sentence after admitting possessing Class-A drugs with intent to supply.

The sentencing, at Oxford Crown Court earlier this month, followed an investigation by detectives who had become suspicious at his extravagant lifestyle.

Despite not working, his house had a black Land Rover Discovery with tinted windows on the drive, a swimming pool in the garden, a state-of-the-art plasma television, and an expensive new kitchen.

After searching his home, police discovered 13 ounces of cocaine - with a street value of at least £18,000.

Mother-of-two Jean Godfrey lives next door to Smith. She said: "As a mother, it does worry me that this was happening in our street.

"It's a quiet road. But there were always loads of people coming and going. When he got the swimming pool, we were particularly surprised."

Another neighbour, who was too scared to give her name, said: "We knew something strange was going on. We once received an anonymous note saying he was dealing drugs, which made us quite frightened.

"There was always an awful lot of activity, with cars coming and going day and night. They were all posh cars too - 4x4s with up-to-date registrations.

"We knew he was off work for a long time, but his extravagance was awful. He just suddenly started buying stuff. I thought he was running a business there."

Another neighbour, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: "We thought he was doing something illegal, but we heard a story that one of his aunts had a win on the Lottery!"

Chief Inspector Dennis Evernden, area commander for West Oxfordshire, said: "It was his greedy lifestyle which gave him away.

"This was a man who hadn't been working for many months and had a lifestyle which indicated he was living beyond his means.

"He shouldn't have had that amount of money to flash about.

"And if he hadn't won the Lottery there had to be something else."

He said detectives, led by Det Con Robbie Hughes, carried out a 'painstaking' investigation, which revealed the extent of Smith's extravagance.

He said: "He had flashy clothes, a nice car, and was 'living it up'.

"We got a warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and were lucky.

"We recovered 13 ounces of cocaine. He paid a few thousand for it, but it was worth a minimum of £18,000, because it was so pure.

"And we believe he was dealing from his house.

"This man has peddled misery to individuals and families."

He said the cocaine seized during the search, last September, was likely to have ended up on the streets of Oxford, rather than staying in Witney. Financial investigations will continue into Smith's wealth as part of plans to seize any assets bought on the proceeds of drug dealing.

Chief Inspector Evernden said: "If we can link it to drugs, we can have it - whether it's his telly or car. And we can use a big portion of the money we get to carry out more anti-drug operations."