A Jamaican who supplied crack cocaine to his girlfriend at a children?s day care centre where she worked has been jailed for 12 years.

Willston Davis, had previously been found guilty by a jury of handing 251 grams of the drug to Cindy Augustus at the Vernon Temple Child Care Centre, Southampton.

The jury had heard how Davis, 44, was seen by surveillance workers supplying the drug to Augustus, a teacher at the centre, on June 5 2003 while children were present at the premises.

Outlining the case to Chief Justice Richard Ground before he handed down the sentence at Supreme Court on Friday, Crown Counsel Oonagh Vaucrosson said that Augustus and Davis?s own child was present at the school at the time.

This fact, however, was disputed by counsel for the defence, Victoria Pearman, who said there had not been evidence for this.

Davis, a married construction worker with seven children ? three in Bermuda and four in Jamaica ? had no previous convictions, the court was told by Detective Constable Telemacque Markland.

Ms Pearman said her client was a working man, taking care of his responsibilities to his wife and children at the time of the offence.

Sentencing Davis, Mr.Justice Ground said he considered the offence to be serious due to the amount of crack cocaine involved, and because a school was the location for the hand-over.

He added that he had not seen the defendant show any real remorse.

Augustus has already been handed an eight-year sentence after admitting her part in the drug deal.