A pensioner has been jailed for dealing heroin from her home in a bid to help pay off her addict daughter’s drug debts.

Jeanette Duff was caught with hundreds of pounds worth of the Class A drug in her Bridgend home in Kilwinning in August this year.

The 68-year-old grandmother pled guilty at a previous hearing and was jailed for 20 weeks at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week after her lawyer Brian Lannigan told the court Duff had taken over her daughter’s “low level” drug dealing empire after she began using the drugs she was supposed to be selling.

He told the court: “In the course of the last year her daughter had run up drug debts.

“One way she was able to work off these debts was shoplifting, but the other was low level drug dealing.

“Her daughter has overdosed on drugs on two occasions.

“Mrs Duff has never abused drugs but she took this over to stop her daughter simply consuming the drugs.”

Police raided her home on August 13 this year and following a “systematic search” of her home found that she had 10.1grams of heroin stashed away ready to be peddled on the streets – with a value of £350.

Cops also found Duff had 24 grams of herbal cannabis in her home, which had a street value of £250.

During the raid police also found around £1,300 in cash and drug paraphernalia including scales and bags.

The court was told that mother-of-three Duff had a previous conviction seven years ago for smuggling drugs into prison for the same daughter whilst she was serving a jail sentence.

Mr Lannigan said: “She comes before the court with one previous analogous conviction which she committed at the age of 61.

“She has been in trouble twice in her life, both of which involved directly or indirectly, her daughter.

“She was taking Diazepam in to prison for her. ”

Mr Lannigan told the court Duff previously had to sell her home to pay off her family’s drug debts, and said she was remorseful for her actions.

He said: “She pled guilty at the first opportunity and in no way is trying to wriggle out of this. She’s expressed remorse and recognises the damage drugs do in the community.”

But Sheriff Michael Hanlon said the severity of her crime was such that he had no alternative but to jailed her.

Sentencing Duff to 20 week s imprisonment, he said: “I have to take it seriously and you have a previous conviction.

"I’ve taken into account your age and given the nature of the previous conviction and the serious nature of this offence and I see no alternative to a custodial sentence.”

Duff’s relatives wept as she was led from the dock in handcuffs to start her sentence.