TEN months after making national news headlines over a fundraising charity walk, a Grays man finds himself behind bars convicted on drugs offences.

In January Nub News reported on the efforts of Pel (Perry) Scopes, 39, as he set out on a marathon walk to support Treetops School in Grays.

His efforts, which included pushing a shopping trolley he found en-route on his 300-mile trek, made headlines in national newspapers – and he raised more than £30,000 according to his fundraising page.  At his trial at Southend Crown Court this week, it was said the money raised now topped £60,000.

However, after basking in the media spotlight for a few months, in June accusations relating to his drug dealing emerged and he was arrested after a police raid on his home. Scopes, 39, pleaded guilty in August to being concerned in the supply cocaine.

And more background emerged about his lifestyle when it was revealed the charity fundraiser was already serving an 18-month suspended sentence for previous Class A drug-dealing offences, dished out in June last year.

After his arrest, his mother Tracey made a media appeal for local people to give him character references to help mitigate his crimes.

Mum's social media plea.

Scopes appeared for sentence on Tuesday (7 August) alongside Darren Shrubb, 55, of Broadway in Grays, who also pleaded guilty in August to being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

The court was told Scopes played a 'significant role' in the trafficking of drugs and was Shrubbs' boss. He also had convictions for 16 prior offences, including production of Class B drugs - and had, at various times, 'been either addicted or heavily dependent' on drugs, which had led to his own criminality.

Passing sentence on Scopes, Judge Samantha Cohen, who had previously issued his suspended sentence, said his latest crimes were aggravated by having been committed 'immediately after receiving his suspended sentence and she sentenced him to 32 months for the new offence, with six months of his prior suspended sentence to run consecutively.

She ordered that £6,000 seized from his home during the police raid, be donated to a homelessness charity.

Shrubb was sentenced to a 20-month suspended sentence with a rehabilitation requirement.