A drug dealing mum used a "graft" phone to send 5,114 text messages to potential clients in just two months.
Cheryl Brownbill, 36, said she had drugs for sale between February and March 2022 and was caught on March 22, 2022 in the car park of Ravenhead Retail Park in St Helens, when police searched her Audi S3.
Cops discovered 22 knotted packages of heroin and five packages of crack cocaine worth about £135.
Appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, July 11, she was jailed for two years after she pleaded guilty to two counts of possession to supply class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine) and two counts of being concerned with the supply of class A.
Prosecutor Matthew Dunford said: "On the afternoon of March 22, police on patrol in St Helens saw the Audi S3. They followed the vehicle into the car park of Ravenhead Retail Park, where they approached the car. There were two people inside - Cheryl Brownbill, in the passenger seat, and her sister, who was driving.
"The defendant was seen to have a small carrier bag, which she was in the process of trying to hide."
When police found the drugs stashed in her car, they searched Brownbill's home on Ridgewood Drive, St Helens, where they found sandwich bags, £233 cash, a plastic tray full of cocaine and four additional bags of heroin with a total value of £825.
"Her mobile phone, when assessed, had been used as a "graft" phone, used to broadcast messages, as many as 90 in nine minutes," Mr Dunford continued. "Between February and March, 5,114 messages were sent out."
Brownbill's lawyer, Ian Morris, said his client was "vulnerable" as she suffered from anxiety and depression, which had worsened since the death of her oldest sister.
He said: "The dominoes began to fall because she wasn't able to cope at home. Ms Brownbill at that time wasn't able to cope with anything. She stopped taking her medication. That was rather recklessly replaced by alcohol and increasingly strong drugs.
"She has remained clean during her incarceration and expressed her aim to remain so. Her priority is her children and that is where her guilt stems from. That she has let them down. As soon as she is able to obtain her liberty she aims to provide them with the settled and secure environment that they were unfortunately deprived of in the last few months."
Brownbill appeared in court via a video link from HMP Styal. She covered her face with her hands, rocked from side to side and wept as Judge Daniel Lister handed down his sentence.
He said: "Your mobile phone showed the extent of your drug dealing. It's clear that you were engaged in street dealing and I don't need to tell you the impact the use of class A drugs can have on individuals and people around them. You know this is very serious
"You have children who I have no doubt you care about. You have suffered with mental ill health and fallen to drug use, and I take into account the tragic loss of your sister as well, and the impact that this had on you."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
