A young mum from Cheshire has been sent to prison after she smuggled cannabis into jail for her drug-dealing boyfriend, just weeks after being spared jail herself.
Katie Carter, who’s pregnant and the sole carer of her 17-month-old son, had only recently walked free from court with a suspended sentence for Class A drug offences. But within days, she was back in trouble after trying to sneak cannabis into HMP Altcourse hidden inside a pair of Nike trainers meant for her partner, Paul Cordingley, reported the Mirror.
Carter had previously appeared in court alongside Cordingley in April 2023. While he was jailed immediately, she avoided prison. But less than three weeks later, she visited him in prison with clothes and shoes in tow—unknowingly under the watchful eye of prison staff.
When the trainers were scanned by X-ray, something looked off. Officers discovered both soles had been hollowed out and stuffed with cannabis resin—almost 100g of the drug in total, with an estimated street value between £950 and £1,400.
Carter initially claimed she had no idea the drugs were in the shoes. But the jury didn’t buy it. During her trial, the court heard how she had become entangled in her partner’s world and was “acting in his thrall.”
Her defence lawyer, Callum Ross, told the court Carter hadn’t financially benefited and had been under pressure to help Cordingley. He said she’d worked hard to stay out of trouble since her last sentencing and had ended the relationship.
“She now has a child. She is the sole carer to him,” Ross said, explaining that Carter had been working with social services and was trying to turn her life around. “She has recognised that, before she met Mr Cordingley, she was a woman of good character.”
The court heard she’d also received help from a women’s refuge and was finally beginning to take control of her life.
But Judge Stuart Driver KC said that while the case was “sad,” immediate custody was unavoidable. “You now have a one-year-old child… the court acknowledges the punishment you would feel if you were separated,” he said. “But although there is strong personal mitigation, I cannot conclude that the sentence can properly be suspended in this case.”
Carter, wearing a black blazer and white top, quietly nodded as she was sentenced to 12 months in prison—her second chance well and truly squandered.
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