Grandmother wrongly imprisoned over legal highs

A grandmother jailed for taking legal high drugs into a prison is deliberating over whether to put in a compensation claim.

Sharon Bolton, from Nottinghamshire, was imprisoned for 19 days, only to be released when it was found that the substance she was accused of taking into a prison illegally was not on the banned list at HMP Lincoln.

Ms Bolton had gone to the prison to see her former partner and was observed removing a package from her clothing and passing it to him. Her ex-partner then hid the package in his underwear. The prisoner was later searched and two packets of Voodoo, a legal high, were found on his person.

Ms Bolton admitted carrying a prohibited item into a prison and carrying an amphetamine, which she claimed was for her own use. The grandmother was given a nine-month sentence but was released when a judge said there was no evidence offered on the possession of a legal high charge. Judge Michael Heath sentenced her with a six-month conditional discharge for possession of the amphetamine.

After her release, Ms Bolton said: “When I went back into court I had no idea I was going to be released. Then the judge apologised and said sorry for sending me to prison. I was gobsmacked.”

The CPS is now checking a small number of similar cases to see whether other people have been wrongly imprisoned.