A CHIP shop boss turned drug dealer has been ordered to pay back £120,000 he made from crime.

And if he fails to stump up the cash, Craig Oldfield, 35, of Greenock Street, Burnley, faces two years in prison.

Police said the confiscation order sent out the message that anyone who funds their lifestyle with the proceeds of crime would be stripped of their assets.

The cash will be put back in the public purse to fight crime. Oldfield appeared in court for a confiscation hearing after he was convicted for supplying amphetamine and cannabis in August last year.

Police believe he used the profits of his crimes to buy four houses, a Subaru Impreza and amass funds of £100,000 including stock market bonds.

Two of the houses had since been sold to Burnley Council under compulsory purchase orders for a clearance scheme at a cost of £75,000, the court was told. A judge made an order at Burnley Crown Court for Oldfield to pay back £120,000.

Oldfield has 28 days to pay back £95,000 and a further six months to pay the remainder or he will face two years in jail. The cash will be split between the police, Crown Prosecution Service and the Government.

The court was told that although he had been the part owner of a chip shop which was bought for £6,000, he had also claimed benefits for a long time in the past.

Speaking after the case, Mike Sarsons, of Burnley police, who led the financial investigation, said: "For a man who has been in receipt of benefits for a long period of time Mr Oldfield seems to have done quite well to have bought himself four houses and a nice car."

When he appeared at court last year Oldfield admitted possessing amphetamine with intent to supply, possessing cannabis and cannabis resin. He was given a two-year community rehabilitation order, with the Think Programme.

At court last year, it was said that the former "chronic" addict dealt to people he knew were drug users to fund his habit.

Oldfield, then staying at the Clay Street, Burnley, home of his friend Darvin Shaw, had amphetamine worth up to £3,000 and police also found £5,000 in cash when they searched the property in 2004.

He avoided being jailed, despite a judge warning that could be the case, after hearing how he was to become a father and had turned his life around.

After the confiscation case, Insp Damian Darcy, of Burnley police, said: "The message for anyone who thinks they are above the law and who funds their lifestyle with the proceeds of crime is that not only will we come for you, but we will strip you of your assets and if you do not pay up then prison awaits."