FORMER Northwich Victoria owner Jim Rushe has been warned to expect a lengthy spell in jail as punishment for his conviction on a drug-dealing charge.

The 55-year-old will be sentenced later this month following a second postponement of proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court today, Friday.

“The guidelines are such that the imprisonment will be towards the upper end of single figures,” said Judge Simon Medland.

Rushe, of Runcorn Road in Moore, and co-defendant Mark Fishwick, 46, of Greencroft in Preston, were both found guilty of conspiring to supply cocaine in April following a nine-day trial.

The pair were originally due to be sentenced last month.

However the hearing was adjourned after they ordered new defence barristers.

Another postponement followed on Tuesday after one of the lawyers was taken to hospital.

The case was briefly revisited today, Friday – in the absence of both defendants – to schedule a new date.

Rushe and Fishwick will now appear in Liverpool on Friday, June 17.