A pensioner drug dealer with a criminal record stretching back 52 years has been jailed along with his addict accomplice.

Anthony Cawley, 67, and Charlotte Bedford, both of North Place, Headington, Oxford, were convicted last month after a trial of two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

Judge Gordon Risius said the pair were taken into custody in June last year after officers saw a man in a hoodie acting suspiciously and getting into their car in Cowley.

He said it was not known if they had been buying or selling the drugs, but either way had been found guilty by a jury of intending to sell them on.

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Judge Risius said the arresting officers realised Bedford had something in her mouth, which turned out to be 5g of heroin and 11.5g of cocaine.

He said the 35-year-old had 10 convictions for 17 offences, but had never served a prison sentence before.

But he added that Cawley has 39 convictions for 99 offences dating back to 1962, including two long prison sentences for drug dealing.

Peter Du Feu, defending Bedford, said his client was a long-term Class-A drug addict, but was trying to turn her life around with support from her family.

Defence barrister Alistair Grainger said the pensioner had a number of health problems, including prostate cancer and diabetes.

But yesterday at Oxford Crown Court Judge Risius told him: “You cannot use even serious medical problems as an excuse for dealing in hard drugs.”

He jailed Cawley for five years and Bedford for three and a half.

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