Images show the dramatic impact of drug abuse on a single mum-of-three who has now been jailed for trafficking crack cocaine and heroin.
Nadia Stanway, 40, set up a drug trafficking racket at her semi-detached house in the Cheshire countryside to fund her own habit.
Police were alerted by fed up by neighbours on the private estate where she lived in the village of Eaton, Congleton, as it had begun to teem with crack users and drug crazed revellers coming to party until dawn at Stanway's home.
It emerged the former businesswoman whose company went bust during Covid set up a special ''graft phone'' which sent out multiple text messages offering Class A drugs for sale.
Officers arrested Stanway as she got out of a taxi in Congleton town centre. They searched her handbag found £500 in cash, a small set of scales, a pepper spray disguised as lipstick and a Taser stun gun in the shape of a pen.
When quizzed she claimed she had become hooked on drugs herself and was under pressure from others to deal crack and heroin to fund her addiction. She said she had the weapons for her own protection.
At Chester Crown Court, Stanway was jailed for two years and eight months after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs plus possession of a stun device and pepper spray.
The investigation began after Stanway, who had split up with her partner, moved onto the estate in the spring of 2022.
Peter Hussey, prosecuting said: “It was a brand-new housing estate and a quiet area and a number of neighbours were living there with their young children. They had found it a very safe place to be but regrettably when the defendant also moved in, the atmosphere in that particular street changed dramatically.
“One neighbour described there being a lot of comings and goings to the property. Initially, the witness was content with that, given that the defendant had just moved in, it was expected there would be a lot of coming and going. However, that did not die down and it got worse.
“There was partying and there were regular visits from people driving into the area, sounding their horns. It was completely different from what it had normally been like. The development had been caused by the defendant in the street dealing drugs from that address.
“What she has brought to that address was the misery of drug users and others coming into that street. It affected the neighbour’s life to the extent that she felt compelled to call the police.
''In the meantime, police were already conducting an investigation into the use of a graft phone used to deal drugs in that area after seizing other mobile phones belonging to drug users who fielded messages from the defendant.
''In January this year the graft phone issued a number of flare messages offering drugs for sale. At around about 11am the defendant was seen to leave her address on Crawford Drive, take a taxi to Congleton town centre, and after being followed she was apprehended after getting out of the taxi.
“In her possession were a number of items which are the subject of this drugs investigation. There was a total of £500 in cash and a set of scales. She had pepper spray and a stun device, which was in the shape of a pen. When police were looking at the Taser device, they did not particularly notice what it was until the defendant mentioned what it was. The pepper spray looked like lipstick and that too was found in her handbag. She was also in possession of the graft phone.
“At her home police found a diary which contained numerous notes typical of a drug dealer’s lists plus a number of bowls containing powdered residue and sandwich bags and other plastic bags. It was quite evident that the defendant was using that address from which to prepare drugs for sale and using the mobile phone to offer the drugs for sale.
“As the neighbour described drug users were coming to the address to purchase drugs. The neighbour does also describe that earlier on and up until the latter part of the offending period, the defendant had a car.
"That car disappeared but the defendant was in that car all times of day and night going out for about 15 minutes at a time. It would appear that the defendant was out delivering drugs in the car.”
Stanway was later bailed on condition she did not enter her old haunts in Congleton but the following month was arrested caught with snap bags containing crack cocaine plus a black Alcatel mobile phone used to issued flare messages for the sale of drugs. On some days large numbers of texts were said to have been sent out to addicts.
In mitigation for Stanway, defence counsel Nicholas Roxburgh said: “This is a sad case of a woman in an unfortunate situation. She does hold her hands up and makes no bones about her behaviour, but there was an element of exploitation and coercion through her addiction.
“She had no influence on others above her in that chain and there was no expectation of significant financial gain. The defendant maintains that she was under pressure and was only supplying because she herself was addicted to drugs.
''There are days where there are only one or two messages, or three messages, in an hour. This is indicative of someone not making a fortune, simply a woman engaging in this unfortunate course of conduct in order to fuel her own habit.
“The defendant has also shown a significant degree of remorse and she's extended the same to me. She's very sorry for what she has done. She recognises the impact not only on the people who received the drugs but also on the others within the community.
“In terms of the weapons offences she purchased them was because she was in fear not only from those people who were pressuring her to engage in this course of conduct but also her ex-partner. She was very fearful of her ex-partner and bought those items simply to protect herself.
“This case sadly reflects the type of case of individuals who, for whatever personal reasons, fall sadly into the use of illegal drugs and then are taken advantage of by those people who provide them and are forced to sell drugs under pressure with quite frankly frightening individuals.
“She used to have her own business and was a member of the business community before sadly turning to taking drugs. Her business went bust during the Covid pandemic. She's assured me that she won't be touching drugs in the future.''
Sentencing, the judge Mr Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: ''Class A drugs wreck lives and cause complete misery in society because people who otherwise would be happy, supportive and productive - as you were - change completely.
''Their relationships are ruined and families are torn apart. The need for class A drugs takes over their lives and in due course as we see time and time again, users become suppliers. The situation that you are in is sadly not unique. We see it all the time but in your particular case the impact on your life has been devastating.
“People who become hooked pass on the misery, not deliberately, but they think they have to deal in drugs to fund their habit and to make money. I accept that there was probably some pressure or duress whether from other people or the circumstances.
“But from what I've seen when you embarked on it you did so with a degree of efficiency and effectiveness.''
