A single mother-of-six claiming benefits had cannabis worth more than £1,000 at her Colchester home.
Police found the drugs at Melanie Gibson's house in Hatcher Crescent on November 12, a court heard. She said she bought the haul for £260 to share with three others and claimed the police valuation was wrong.
Gibson, whose children are aged two to 16 and all live with her, appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court for sentencing yesterday.
She had admitted possessing cannabis, possessing it with intent to supply and supplying it.
Gibson, 33, has several similar convictions. Peter Tawn, mitigating, said: "The last three months have been a living hell. She has been in bits." She and her family have been made to feel they are not welcome in the neighbourhood since her arrest.
Magistrates sentenced her to four months in prison for each offence, to run concurrently, but suspended the sentence for two years. She must also pay £138 costs.
Published Tuesday, February 22, 2005
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