Lisa Mann (32), of Flat 2, 66 Goodwins Road, was before the court for sentence last Thursday having previously admitted possessing 0.2 grammes of heroin at Lynn on April 2 and failing to surrender to bail at Lynn Magistrates' Court on May 12.

She was given 28 days in prison for the possession offence and 14 days, to run consecutively, for the bail offence.

Magistrates ordered the heroin be destroyed.

Prosecutor Kevin Eastwick said that when Mann was found with the heroin, she told the police that she had bought the three wraps at £10 each for her own use.

She also failed to appear at the Lynn court on May 12 to answer her bail.

In mitigation, solicitor Alison Muir said her client had been involved with drugs for a long time.

"She has had a heroin addiction, particularly for the last eight years, to the extent that the vast majority of benefit she receives is spent on illegal drugs," she said.

Mann found it difficult to break away from heroin but was now using methadone substitute and hoping to keep clear of the hard drug.

Miss Muir said the defendant's addiction had caused a strained relationship with her father and loss of contact with her mother.

"The three children have been taken into care because of it and it has taken over her life," she added.

The solicitor recognised Mann's previous convictions increased the seriousness of the possession offence, and said the bail offence resulted from "the chaotic lifestyle of those involved in drug-taking".

Mann had been on remand in custody since June 3, and the magistrates said this would be taken into account in the time she serves in prison.