Godmother comes to rescue to keep teen dealer free

Woman, 19, caught with class A drugs in city ‘You have had a difficult home life and have not had the support which ideally children should have’

A teenage girl caught drug dealing in Canterbury has been spared jail after a judge was told of her difficult upbringing.

Amy Beeson, 19, faced a stretch inside after officers found her carrying cocaine and heroin substitute diamorphine, which she intended to sell in the city.

But she avoided immediate custody after Judge Rupert Lowe said he was taking an exceptional course of action in suspending her prison sentence because her godmother had said she would help her.

He told Beeson: “You have had a difficult home life and have not had the support which ideally children should have.

“Deciding to become a class A drug dealer is not only a bad decision, but a criminal decision.”

Beeson’s defence lawyer Ronnie Manek said she had been estranged from her parents since she was 13 and since then had led a rootless and aimless life.

She had been given no guidance and was evicted from her mother’s home.

“She went to live with her father, who was in and out of jail and verbally abused her, Mr Makek claimed.

“She fell into the criminal fraternity and it is perhaps surprising that she was of good character until this,” he added.

Beeson, of no fixed address, was caught with drugs worth £460 in Canterbury on August 21.

She admitted possession with intent to supply and on Tuesday was given a two-year jail-term, suspended for two years.

Judge Lowe said Beeson’s background had left her particularly vulnerable to exploitation by drug gangs.

“You owe a significant debt of gratitude to your godmother and you can repay that help by doing what she tells you,” he said.

Beeson was also ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work, attend rehabilitation sessions and was placed under an overnight curfew to stay at home between 9pm and 6am for four months.