A 45-year-old Lancashire man has been jailed for seven years, after being found guilty to trying to smuggle Class A drugs into HMP Marshgate.

Wayne Wilson, of Ashton-under-Lyme, Lancashire, had been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court charged with conveying a List A prohibited article into a prison.

Yesterday (Thursday 1 October) he was found guilty of the offence and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The court heard how, on 23 January 2019, Wilson was arrested after prison staff watched him pass an item to an inmate he was visiting.

The package was recovered by prison staff and inside were quantities of heroin and crack cocaine.

PC Morgan Horton said: “We work in close partnership with the prisons in Doncaster and I hope the sentencing of Wilson sends a strong warning to those individuals who would try to get drugs or other prohibited items into prison.

“Both SYP and the prison service have zero tolerance for this criminality and we won’t hesitate to arrest individuals suspected of bringing prohibited items into prison and pursuing a prosecution.”

John Hewitson, Serco Prison Director at HMP Doncaster, said: “I am very proud of the vigilance and professionalism of our officers who spotted this individual trying to smuggle contraband into the prison and we are pleased that he has received a custodial sentence. We take a zero tolerance approach to anyone trying to bring illegal goods into the prison and work closely with the police.”