ONE of the heroes of Grays Athletic's glory years who helped them win the FA Trophy twice has been jailed for his role as one of the ringleaders of an Essex drug ring.

It is a shattering fall from grace for a man regarded by many of the Blues' fans as a club legend.

Stuart Thurgood joined Grays from Southend United in 2003, played 157 times and scored 26 goals before joining Gillingham in 2008.

After a year at Priestfield he returned to Grays initially on loan before signing permanently having only played seven times for the Gills.

Thurgood joined Dagenham in 2009. He only played 17 times for the Daggers before picking up an injury which ended his professional career, though he did try to resurrect it, including a brief spell at East Thurrock United.

Today, aged 39, he is behind bars and is into the first few days of an eight year sentence handed out last week at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Thurgood, of Morley Grove, Harlow, was one of eight men who were sentenced for their roles in a network which smuggled cocaine in containers through ports before selling it on to gangs supplying west Essex, Hertfordshire, London and Suffolk.

The operation was estimated to have earned them at least £500,000.

It came to an end in October last year when officers from Essex Police in a co-ordinated investigation led in the UK by the National Crime Agency mounted a serious of raid on 18 homes in Essex and Suffolk and brought members of the supply network to justice.

Among them was Thurgood who was described in court as the second in command in the criminal network.