A CLUB-GOER has told a jury he sold drugs at an East Lancashire nightspot and that young people queued up to buy them "like it was a sweet shop".

Philip Moss told a Preston Crown Court trial that he sold illegal substances on eight of his visits to Monroes at Great Harwood.

He also suggested that he paid doorstaff some of the takings from selling pills.

Mr Moss has been giving evidence at the trial of Anthony Ian Jackson the owner/proprietor of Monroes who denies being concerned in the supply of drugs.

The 60-year-old defendant of Padiham Road, Sabden, denies two charges of being concerned in the supply of MDMA (ecstasy) and cocaine and three charges of permitting premises to be used for drug supplying.

The case covers a period from December 2002 to February this year.

The prosecution allege that young people would travel from miles away to the club, which was situated in the middle of nowhere and had no liquor licence. The jury has been told that the attraction was drugs.

Police mounted special operations at the club, resulting in a raid on February 15 this year.

Giving evidence to the trial, Mr Moss accepted in court that after the police raid, he was charged with four offences of supplying ecstasy to undercover officers. He had pleaded guilty and had been committed for sentence to Burnley Crown Court.

He said he started visiting Monroes in August last year, went there a dozen times in all and dealt drugs there on eight of those visits.

Mr Moss told the court he started dealing drugs on his fourth visit. The sales took place near the cloakroom area.

"I took in 100 tablets and sold 100. It took about two hours to sell the ecstasy," he said.

"It would be like a sweet shop. They would come in a queue, at the most, ten people at a time".

(Proceeding)