A convicted robber who secretly stored heroin at his ex-partner’s home where a children’s party was being held has lost his appeal against his sentence.

Jamie Christopher Hall, 29, was jailed for nine years and nine months in November after admitting two offences of possessing the class A drug with intent to supply.

He appealed against the sentence, his lawyer arguing it was ’manifestly excessive’ and ought to have been of the order of seven years’ custody.

But this was rejected by the appeal court which gave serious consideration to increasing the sentence but, on balance, decided not to do so.

Judge of Appeal Jeremy Storey QC, sitting with Deemster Kainth and Deemster Cook said in a judgment: ’We do not accept that 9¾ years’ custody was too long or outside the norm of sentencing generally applied by the Isle of Man courts in cases of repeated possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.’

The Court of General Gaol Delivery heard last year that police were called by Hall’s ex-partner in November 2018 to her home in central Douglas after she discovered a package she suspected to contain heroin.

Two weeks earlier, she had agreed to let him store some of his belongings at her home as he claimed he was being threatened with eviction.

Some 38g of heroin, with a street value of between £4,750 and £9,500, had been stored in the dining room overnight at the time of a party attended by approximately 20 children.

Hall admitted that he intended to sell the heroin to raise money to pay for items for his daughter and other young relatives.

While on court bail and awaiting committal for trial for the first offence, Hall agreed to store a further quantity of heroin.

On March 13 last year police were called to a footpath near Blackberry Lane, Onchan.

Officers spotted by the base of a tree what looked like a clear plastic tub wrapped inside a pale green nappy bag. Inside were three plastic bags containing 170.71g of heroin with a street value of between £21,338 and £42,677.

Hall stated he owed his supplier money for the heroin seized the previous November 2018.

He said he had been threatened and subsequently pressurised into looking after the drugs and leaving them in a public place overnight for collection.

The offences were committed after his release from jail and while still on licence for a 2017 robbery conviction relating to a raid on Newby’s newsagents in Douglas in 2015.

Jailing him last year, Deemster Alastair Montgomerie said by leaving heroin in the Douglas address, Hall had put all the children at risk.

’It really doesn’t bear thinking about,’ he said.