Three primary school age children in one English city reaped more than the usual harvest of sweets and chocolates on Halloween when they emptied their trick-or-treat goody bags and found several bags of cocaine.

On Monday, the man who had mistakenly handed out his cocaine stash to the children instead of candy was given a community service sentence in court, the Press Association reported.

Apprentice panel-beater Donald Junior Green fished in his pockets for a bag of chewy sweets to give to the youngsters at his door on Halloween, but instead pulled out a plastic pack containing eight bags of cocaine he had bought for 200 pounds ($320) earlier that day, Oldham Magistrates' Court heard.

He dropped the drugs into the goody bags carried by the three children, aged eight, six and five, who were out trick-or-treating escorted by their father, an off-duty policeman.

The 23-year-old defendant then closed the door, went back inside the house and put his hand in his pockets to get out his drugs - but instead pulled out the sweets.