South Yorkshire grandma was caught with cannabis with intent to supply after a police raid

Police found skunk cannabis and cannabis resin at the family home of 50-year-old Mandy Allinson, in Mexborough, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing.

James Holding, prosecuting, told the hearing on February 8 how police raided Allinson’s home on Hirst Gate, Mexborough, near Doncaster, in July, 2019, and searched a bin liner and found tin foil, snap-bags, a draw-string bag with freezer bags with cannabis and weighing scales, plastic tubs and cannabis resin.

Police also recovered £4,000 in cash from a vehicle, according to Mr Holding, and the skunk cannabis was valued at £230 and the cannabis resin was valued at £120.

Recorder Mark McKone told Allinson: “Long-term cannabis use can cause serious mental health problems and that is why Pariament has made cannabis a class B drug.”

Allinson claimed one of her sons had asked for help to wean him off cannabis and she claimed she had found the snap bags and plastic tubs in a field near her home had brought them home to ask her sons what they were and she had then thrown them away.

She also claimed the cash was from an inheritance and from a redundancy payout and that she had not put this in a bank because she did not trust banks.

However, the defendant, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis with intent to supply and to possessing criminal property regarding the cash.

Lorena Veale, defending, said Miss Allinson has a close relationship with her family and she lives with her partner, two sons, a daughter and a four-year-old granddaughter.

She added: “Miss Allinson is extremely worried about the effect of going into custody will have on her family particularly on her granddaughter who will not be able to understand her disappearance from the family home.”

Ms Veale also said that Allinson suffers with mental health issues and has suffered a significant trauma after the death of her father when she was only 16-years-old.

Recorder McKone sentenced Allinson to eight months of custody suspended for two years with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work.

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