A ROOFER who sold sleeping tablets to a young woman who later died has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Relieved relatives of Andrew McRoy shouted “Get in there” after the 32-year-old was spared immediate prison by The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon Bourne-Arton.

McRoy, admitted supplying a controlled drug, Zopiclone, to Samantha Watson and possession with intent to supply.

Ms Watson, 29, was found dead in her flat in Saltburn, east Cleveland on April 6 last year.

The cause of her death was respiratory failure and the toxic effect of both Zopiclone and methadone.

Ian West, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court, that police arrested McRoy two days after Ms Watson’s death and found 812 sleeping tablets in 29 boxes.

McRoy, a roofer, at first denied supplying the dead woman when quizzed by officers.

But a mobile phone found in her flat contained text messages in which she had asked him for the tablets, while the boxes in the victim’s address and McRoy’s were identical.

Nicole Horton, mitigating, said the defendant began taking Zopiclone himself in 2002 after an operation.

She said it was not disputed that he had supplied Ms Watson and a few friends on a limited basis and he had not profited from their sale.

Miss Horton said: “He feels an enormous amount of guilt. He knew the victim since she was very young.”

McRoy, of Wordsworth Road, Middlesbrough, had been a heroin addict, but had turned his life around and was now working full-time, she said.

Judge Bourne-Arton said McRoy “to a degree” played a part in Ms Watson’s death, but he had not faced any charges in relation to it.

He said Ms Watson had led a troubled life and had tried to keep her drug use from her mother, who had done what she could to prevent her taking them.

Addressing McRoy, he said: “The harm of drugs is there for all to see.”

McRoy received an eight month prison term, suspended for two years. He will be subject to a six month-long curfew and was ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work and pay £2,000 costs.

Detective Constable Rob Griffiths, of Cleveland Police, said: “This case highlights the tragic consequences of drug dealing and the dangers of abusing prescription drugs such as Zopiclone.”

He said he hoped the family of Ms Watson could now move forward with their lives following the conclusion of the case.