Former Everton striker Michael Branch sent to prison for selling drugs

Former Everton striker Michael Branch has been jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to selling drugs.

The 34-year-old admitted to handing over 3kg of amphetamine to another man in a car park in Liverpool and to holding 1kg of cocaine, which was seized at his home in Otterspool in July.

The Liverpool Echo quotes a spokesman for the Serious Organised Crime Agency as saying: "This was significant criminality committed by someone who would once have been viewed as a role model.

"The message here is that entering the illegal drugs trade is a route to prison, not to financial gain and a celebrity lifestyle."

Branch came through the youth system at Everton and also experienced loan stints at Manchester City.