Herbie Hide sentenced to 22 months for drug offences

Cambridge Crown Court heard how Hide, 42, had been stung by ‘fake Sheikh' Mazher Mahmood in a Norwich hotel earlier this year.

After Mahmood had made a remark about the lack of quality cocaine in Norwich, Hide arranged for ‘my man’ - co-defendant Ben Sharman - to obtain four grams of the drug, worth £400, which he then handed over to the reporter.

The court heard that when tested, the drugs were found to be 'absolute rubbish’, containing only 0.1498 grams of pure cocaine.

Hide has had many run-ins with the law. Previous convictions including criminal damage, battery and threatening behaviour.

Martin Budworth, mitigating for Hide, said Sun reporter Mahmood and his assistant had pursued his client 'relentlessly' despite his attempts to remove himself from the encounter.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC said he reduced the sentence for Hide, partly because of the ‘sting’ element. Sharman was sentenced to 20 months, which included an unrelated burglary.

Nigerian-born but raised in Norfolk, Hide was WBO heavyweight champion twice in the 1990s, first in 1994 and again holding the belt between 1997-98 before losing to Vitali Klitschko.

He has since faded into obscurity, with legal and personal problems culminating in his latest disgrace.

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