Brenda Joyce was handed a one year sentence at Cambridge Crown Court and it will run consecutively with a 21- month sentence she is currently serving

Brenda Joyce was handed a one year sentence at Cambridge Crown Court and it will run consecutively with a 21- month sentence she is currently serving for possessing heroin with intent to supply.That sentence was due to be completed next month but this latest conviction will mean the 65-year-old, of Cockerell Road, Cambridge, will now be behind bars until 2009.Police raided her property in September last year after they had previously followed a man, who they believed to have been involved in a drug deal, to the house.On entering the property they found 2.14 grams of crack cocaine, various quantities of diamorphine, several wraps, plastic packaging and £729 in cash.Joyce, who was at the time on bail and awaiting court for the previous drug charge, was in the property when the police raided it.She later pleaded guilty to the charge but claimed she was forced into allowing her home to be used as a location for drug deals.Tim Brown, prosecuting, said: "She said people had put pressure on her to use the property for the supply of drugs. She said that she had in fact left the premises and had only returned to collect some personal items. But when police called at the premises she was in the bath so detectives believed she had more of a connection to the house than she was letting on."
Mr Brown listed 10 previous convictions Joyce has for 22 separate offences. These began with a prosecution for shoplifting in 1994.He said: "She then went on and moved from cannabis to heroin and she was on bail for the previous heroin offence when caught. She was clearly somebody who moved in those circles."Mark Shelley, mitigating, said: "She says the time she has spent in prison already has been useful. She is 65 and she is now clean of drugs and has the offer of a property in Peterborough when she leaves jail. This is close enough for her to see her grandchildren and she hopes to make a fresh start."Judge Anthony Bates, sentencing her to 12 months in prison, said: "You have been shown over the years to have a significant involvement in the drug scene. Your behaviour in prison has done you credit and you have the offer of an address in Peterborough and I hope that will take you away from the drug scene. However, I have reached the conclusion that imprisonment is inevitable."

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