A former Ceredigion postmistress who ran a side line as a cocaine dealer has escaped jail with help from the coronavirus outbreak.

Deidre Jenkins, aged 45, ran the Londis store and post office in Parcllyn near Aberporth but was also dealing in thousands of pounds worth of the Class A drug.

Jenkins was told today she would have gone to jail but for the delay in holding the sentencing hearing, partly due to the disruption to work at Swansea crown court because of the virus.

Jenkins, who admitted possessing cocaine with intent, was jailed for two years, suspended for two years—the maximum sentence that can be suspended.

Jim Davis, prosecuting, told the court that members of the public tipped off the police about Jenkins’ sideline.

In December, 2019, police executed a search warrant at the premises and found three wraps of cocaine in Jenkins’ handbag.

Officers also found a further eight wraps in a bedroom and £1,200 in cash.

Mr Davis said an examination of Jenkins’ mobile telephone revealed numerous messages related to drugs deals. One showed that a single customer owed her £3,000.

It appeared, said Mr Davis, that Jenkins had become fed up of giving customers cocaine “on tick” and had told some to go to other dealers.

Ian Ibrahim, the barrister representing Jenkins, said she had been a user of cocaine but had managed to give up the habit. But she relapsed and began dealing because of her difficult financial circumstances.

Since her arrest, he said, she had lost the businesses and was now a bankrupt.

However, he added, she was taking steps to rebuild her life and change her attitude towards drugs.

Judge Catherine Richards said anyone dealing in a Class A drug such as cocaine deserved to go to prison, partly because of the tremendous harm caused to communities they lived in and dealt in.

But there had been a considerable delay between her arrest and today’s sentencing hearing. That, coupled with the effect that an immediate prison sentence would have on her children, and the efforts she was making to change her life, enabled the judge to suspended the prison sentence.

Jenkins must also complete a rehabilitation course as set out by the probation service.