A woman smuggled drugs into a prison while on a Christmas visit with an inmate.

Courtney Allsopp passed a parcel to a prisoner at HMP Northumberland on December 23, 2019 and the illegal exchange was spotted by guards. Newcastle Crown Court heard the package contained three types of Class C drugs and a psychoactive substance.

Allsopp claimed she was pressured to hand over the package and later admitted she was paid around £150 to do so. The 24-year-old, from Hylton Terrace, Pelton, County Durham, who has a criminal record, admitted three charges of carrying a prohibited item to jail and one of supplying a psychoactive substance.

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Recorder Anthony Dunne told him: “Drugs taken in prison cause all the damage they do to the outside world, but more than that they compromise the rehabilitation of prisoners and make prisons more dangerous for staff and prisoners. ” The judge said Allsopp had a history of mental health issues and had taken “serious steps” to help himself in the past two and a half years.

Allsopp was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, with rehabilitation requirements and a three-month curfew. The court heard that she had moved and had been working since the offence.

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