Anthony Hayes jailed for four years over Birkenhead drug supply 2026

Key points

• A Birkenhead drug dealer has received a prison sentence of four years after admitting to supplying cocaine and cannabis.
• Anthony Hayes, who is 31 years old, was referred to as homeless.
• The crimes relate to both Class A and Class B drugs.
• Hayes admitted to the crimes.
• This story was covered by the Wirral Globe under the title “Birkenhead man jailed four years for dealing drugs”.
• The report gives no more information regarding the investigation, court proceedings, amount of drugs, and name of the sentencing judge.

Birkenhead Crime (Liverpool standard) September 14, 2026 – Anthony Hayes, a 31-year-old man described as having no fixed abode, has been sentenced to four years in prison after admitting involvement in the supply of Class A and Class B drugs.

The case concerns the supply of cocaine, which is classified as a Class A drug, and cannabis, which is classified as a Class B drug. Hayes entered guilty pleas to the offences before receiving the four-year custodial sentence.

The report identifies Hayes as a Birkenhead man, although it states that he had no fixed abode at the time of the case. No further address details are provided in the available extract.

The sentence means Hayes will serve a period in custody in connection with the drug-supply offences. The available report does not state whether the four-year term includes time spent on remand, whether any additional orders were imposed or whether the sentence was affected by a guilty-plea reduction.

Who is Anthony Hayes?

According to the Wirral Globe report, Anthony Hayes is 31 and was described as having no fixed abode. The report identifies him as being connected with Birkenhead.

The available information does not provide details of Hayes’s employment, personal circumstances, previous convictions or role in the drug supply. It also does not state whether prosecutors alleged that he acted alone or as part of a wider criminal network.

Birkenhead drug dealer Anthony Hayes has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to supplying cocaine and cannabis, according to the Wirral Globe.

Because those details are not included in the supplied report, they cannot be established from the available information. The confirmed facts are that Hayes pleaded guilty, that the offences involved cocaine and cannabis, and that he received a four-year prison sentence.

What drugs did Hayes admit supplying?

The offences involved two types of controlled drugs: cocaine and cannabis.

Cocaine is a Class A drug under the UK’s drug classification system. Cannabis is a Class B drug. The classification of a controlled drug is one factor considered in criminal proceedings, although the seriousness of a supply offence can also depend on matters such as the quantity involved, the defendant’s role, the intended market and any aggravating or mitigating features.

The supplied report does not give the quantity or value of the drugs. It does not say how the substances were discovered, whether they were recovered during a search or whether police evidence included messages, surveillance or other material.

It is therefore not possible to determine from the available information how extensive the alleged operation was. The four-year sentence relates to the offences to which Hayes pleaded guilty.

Why was the case brought before the court?

The case was brought because Hayes admitted dealing Class A and Class B drugs. The Wirral Globe describes the offences as involving the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

The supplied article extract does not include a detailed account of the police investigation or the circumstances leading to Hayes’s arrest. It also does not identify the prosecution case, the defence submissions or the court in which the sentencing took place.

In criminal reporting, a guilty plea is an admission of the offences charged. The sentence is imposed by the court after consideration of the facts placed before it, the applicable sentencing framework and the circumstances of the defendant.

No statement from Merseyside Police, the Crown Prosecution Service or Hayes’s legal representative is included in the material supplied for this report. Any account of the investigation beyond the confirmed facts would therefore risk adding information that has not been reported in the available source.

What did the court hear about the offences?

The available report confirms the result of the case but does not reproduce the full sentencing remarks. It does not state how long the drug dealing continued, how Hayes became involved or whether the court heard evidence about customers, profits or the distribution network.

It also does not provide information about the exact charges, the number of counts or whether the cocaine and cannabis offences were dealt with together. The report’s description establishes that Hayes pleaded guilty to dealing drugs in both Class A and Class B categories.

The absence of those details is significant because drug-supply cases can involve different levels of responsibility. A person’s sentence may be influenced by the quantity of drugs, their position in the operation and whether they had a leading, significant or lesser role. However, the specific basis for Hayes’s four-year sentence is not given in the supplied material.

How does a guilty plea affect a criminal sentence?

A guilty plea can be relevant to sentencing because it may reduce the time and resources required for a trial. The amount of credit available can depend on when the plea was entered and the circumstances of the case.

The available report does not state when Hayes pleaded guilty or whether the four-year sentence already reflects any reduction. It is therefore not possible to calculate what sentence might otherwise have been imposed.

The sentence reported by the Wirral Globe is the confirmed outcome: four years in prison after Hayes admitted supplying cocaine and cannabis.

What information remains unconfirmed?

Several details about the case are not included in the supplied report. These include:

• The court where Hayes was sentenced.
• The date of the hearing.
• The name of the judge.
• The quantity and estimated value of the cocaine and cannabis.
• The circumstances of Hayes’s arrest.
• The police force or investigation team involved.
• Whether other people were arrested or charged.
• Whether the drugs were intended for local distribution.
• Whether Hayes had previous convictions.
• Whether confiscation, forfeiture or other orders were made.

The report should therefore be read as a concise account of the conviction and sentence rather than a complete transcript of the proceedings.

What is the confirmed outcome for Birkenhead?

The confirmed outcome is that Anthony Hayes, aged 31, was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to dealing cocaine and cannabis.

The case adds to the public record of criminal proceedings involving drug supply in Birkenhead. However, the limited available report does not establish the wider circumstances of the offending or indicate whether the sentence forms part of a larger operation.

The Wirral Globe is the source of the reported details. The supplied material does not identify the article’s journalist, so no author attribution can responsibly be added.

What is the background to drug-supply offences in England and Wales?

Controlled drugs in England and Wales are placed into categories under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Class A drugs include substances such as cocaine, while cannabis is classified as a Class B drug. Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug is a criminal offence, regardless of whether money changes hands.

Sentencing depends on the individual facts of a case. Courts may consider the type and quantity of the drug, the defendant’s role, the scale and duration of the activity, the intended supply chain and any relevant personal circumstances. A guilty plea may also be taken into account.

The principles of an inverted-pyramid news report place the most important confirmed facts at the beginning, followed by supporting information and context. That approach is particularly important in court reporting because it separates established facts from details that have not been disclosed.

In this case, the established facts are limited but clear: Hayes was 31, was described as having no fixed abode, admitted supplying cocaine and cannabis, and was sentenced to four years in prison. Further details would require access to the complete court report or official statements.

How could the sentence affect the local audience?

The development is likely to be relevant to Birkenhead residents because it concerns the supply of cocaine and cannabis and has resulted in a custodial sentence. It may also provide information for people following local court cases and policing activity.

The available report does not indicate any specific change to policing, public services or local drug-treatment provision. It also does not support predictions about future arrests or prosecutions.

For the local audience, the immediate confirmed effect is the conclusion of Hayes’s case with a four-year prison sentence. Any wider impact on drug availability, community safety or enforcement would depend on information not included in the report and should not be assumed.