A mother who purchased £300 worth of cocaine as a birthday present for her daughter's 18th has been spared jail. Nicola Austen, 37, booked a limousine and bought 12 bags of the Class A drug to 'make sure she had a good time' on a night out in London.
Austen, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply. However, a judge at Maidstone Crown Court gave her a nine-month suspended sentence, accepting that the drugs were not intended for wider distribution.
The court heard that a sniffer dog discovered 5.65 grams of cocaine divided into 12 wraps hidden in her bedroom window during a police raid on January 31. Prosecutor Craig Evans said Austen planned to take the drug with her college student daughter during a limousine trip to London for celebrations.
Austen, who has six previous convictions including one for possessing amphetamines, showed little remorse, telling reporters: 'It's all been blown out of proportion. It was a party.' Her defence argued that jailing her would adversely affect her 14-year-old son, for whom she cares, and that she also provides care for her elderly grandmother.
Recorder Matthew McDonagh described the offence as 'a serious example of possession of drugs' but suspended the sentence for a year, imposing 250 hours of unpaid work. He said the requirement was intended to be 'onerous'.
