A CARLISLE woman who regularly “shared” cannabis with a small group of friends has been sentenced by a crown court judge.

Charlotte Hampton, 28, was originally charged alongside a young man with possessing drugs with intent to supply but prosecutors have now accepted her guilty plea to a lesser offence.

This was on the basis that she was guilty of “social supply.”

At the city’s crown court, she admitted “being concerned” in the supply of the class B drug cannabis on March 6, 2020. Her male co-defendant William Robinson, 24, earlier admitted possessing cannabis and cocaine with intent to supply.

The court heard that Hampton’s guilty plea to being concerned in supplying cannabis was entered on a detailed factual basis.

This stated that she had used illegal drugs on a regular basis between 2018 and 2020 and she was part of a group of three friends who shared the drug when they had it. She also collected the drug from a dealer for those friends.

She was not paid for this in any way. The court also heard that £500 which was seized from the defendant had been provided by her mother and was intended solely as a deposit on a house and had nothing to do with drugs.

Her mother was seeking the return of that loan. Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told the court that the plea basis was fully accepted. Judge Nicholas Barker said it was clear the defendant’s role in cannabis supply fell into the lesser role category.

He ruled that Hampton did not need any form of Probation Service intervention and she had moved on with her life. Defence barrister Judith McCullough confirmed that the defendant, who had left Cumbria, was due to move back to Carlisle imminently.

She was also about to start a full-time job in the hospitality industry.

Judge Barker said of Hampton: “This is a young woman who has never been in trouble before. She got caught up in supply because of her usage of cannabis. It could not have been categorised any lower; it’s the lowest category.

“She clearly doesn’t need any interventions.”

He told the defendant: “You have pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug cannabis. That came about as a result of you being stopped with William Robinson as long ago as March 2020.

“We can all remember life being somewhat different in early March of that year. He had with him a quantity of drugs – some cannabis, and some cocaine. It was clear from his phone that he was involved extensively in the supply and usage of both those drugs.”

The judge fined Hampton £600 and imposed an 18-month conditional discharge.

This means she will not be punished provided she stays out of trouble for that period. Court records show both defendants have been living at an address in Horden, Peterlee, Durham.

Robinson, whose offending was said by the judge to fall into a "wholly different category," is due to be sentenced on Monday.