JUST SHY of 500 middle-aged people have been caught with cocaine in Thames Valley.

The middle-aged people who were all between the ages of 40 and 60 at the time of arrest were caught in possession of the class A drug.

A freedom of information (FOI) request to Thames Valley Police revealed the data.

It showed that 485 middle-aged people were charged with various offences relating to cocaine use and intent to supply as well as crack cocaine – the base form of the drug, known as crack.

Out of those 485, only 47 of them were females whilst the remaining 438 people who were arrested, were males.

The data is broken down into specific offence wordings: attempt to possess with intent to supply, possess with an intent to supply and possess of a controlled drug (with no proven intent to supply).

The number of people in possession of cocaine with intent to supply the drug was 166 people in total.

Out of those 152 were men and the remaining 14 were women.

The number of people in possession of crack cocaine and intending to supply it was 102.

With 91 being male and the other 11 female.

In possession of both crack and cocaine with no proven intention to supply it was 215 people.

Only 41 of those in possesion of crack cocaine, which is usually smoked rather than snorted.

The data released by police also showed the number of charges that the force had made against middle-aged people in possession of cocaine.

The total amount of charges was 497, 12 more charges than the amount of people arrested.

This is put down to people being arrested and then charged for multiple offences, or found with more than one type of the drug.