May 31, 2016 2.17 pm This story is over 94 months old

Six-month jail term for mum who tried to smuggle phone in to Lincoln Prison

A mother who was caught as she tried to smuggle a mobile phone in to Lincoln Prison has been jailed for six months. Nicola Bradford, 38, claimed she was put under pressure to break the law after receiving an anonymous phone call which gave her address and the name of her young daughter. Lincoln Crown…
Lincoln Crown Court. Photo: The Lincolnite

A mother who was caught as she tried to smuggle a mobile phone in to Lincoln Prison has been jailed for six months.

Nicola Bradford, 38, claimed she was put under pressure to break the law after receiving an anonymous phone call which gave her address and the name of her young daughter.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Bradford, from Wainfleet, was visiting her partner at the Greetwell Road jail when prison staff were alerted by a search dog.

Chris Geeson, prosecuting, said Bradford was found in possession of a mobile phone.

On her way to the police station she also admitted to having three wraps of heroin in her handbag which she had left behind in a locker at the prison.

Terry Boston, mitigating, said the heroin was for Bradford’s own personal use and she was coerced in to smuggling the phone after it was passed to her in a toilet at Lincoln Hospital opposite the prison.

He said: “Her partner was in custody on remand for a robbery he did not commit.

“While in custody he was badly beaten up and needed butterfly plasters above both eyebrows.

“She had seen him and was on a bus to visit him when she received an anonymous phone call. The person did not identify himself and gave her address and the name of her two year old daughter.

“She was told to go to Lincoln Hospital and go in to a toilet cubicle where the phone and another item was slid under by a person she did not see.

“She was terrified and complied with what she was told to do.

“It was a relief when the dog indicated she needed to be searched.”

Bradford, of High Street, Wainfleet, admitted smuggling a phone in to prison and possessing heroin on September 24, 2015.

The court heard Bradford’s daughter would be looked after by her grandmother if she was sent to jail.

Passing sentence Judge Michael Heath told Bradford: “The unlawful taking of a mobile phone in to prison is a serious matter.

“I can only pass a custodial sentence for this offence.”