'Put some whizz in for you babe': Drug smuggler caught after he posted amphetamine to prisoner at HMP New Hall women's jail with his own name and address on the letter

Ryan Burton sent the letter to the woman in HMP New Hall, near Wakefield, in August last year with a small amount of amphetamine wrapped in a cigarette paper inside the letter.

It amounted to around £2.50 worth of the drug in street value, but was worth £10 in prison, Leeds Crown Court was told.

The 33-year-old then wrote a small note saying "put some whizz in for you babe", whizz being the slang term for the Class B drug.

After being intercepted by prison staff, he then sent another letter months later to ask if she received the drugs.

He stated that he would have sent cannabis but feared the strong smell of the drug would have aroused suspicion.

Forensic analysis found Burton's fingerprints on the letter, along with his details.

He was arrested but refused to comment during interview.

Burton admitted a charge of conveying drugs into a prison.

Aubrey Sampson, mitigating, said that Burton had never even met the female before and was only friends through Facebook.

He said: "He accepts he put himself in a ridiculous scenario. He does not know why he did it."

Mr Sampson said Burton was isolated, lived in a flat on his own and was looking for work as a handyman.

He said the lack of sophistication was evident by Burton putting his details on the letter.

Judge Simon Batiste said the message about drugs being smuggled into prisons had to be sent out.

He added: "Drugs are a scourge in prisons. They cause all sorts of difficulties and the courts have said time and time again that people who are caught supplying drugs into prisons will themselves go to prison.

"Sadly, you chose to do that. You may not have thought hard about the consequences but you were aware it was a serious matter.

"Only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified."

Burton, of Lupton Road, Sheffield, was jailed for four months.