A JUDGE urged a “naive and vulnerable” young woman to ditch her criminal boyfriend after he talked her into smuggling £2,000 worth of Spice into prison for him.

Kelly Hume was told her life would spiral downwards and she would end up behind bars herself unless she left burglar and thief Dean Hogg.

Hogg, 24, was serving 22 months in Holme House Prison, Stockton, when he got his partner to try to smuggle in a package of the psychoactive drug in her bra.

The hand-over of the bags in January – as the couple cuddled in the visiting area – was caught on CCTV.

Hogg, whose address the last time he appeared in court was Eldon, County Durham, said they were Chewits sweets, and Hume said she had no idea what it was.

In later police interviews, she said she received a menacing phone call and a visit from an unknown man telling her what to do, and making threats.

She said she feared for her own safety and that of her boyfriend, who, it was claimed at Teesside Crown Court, was subjected to violence in prison.

In an unusual move, Recorder Eric Elliott, QC, advised 22-year-old Hume: “Your real problem is Dean Hogg.

“I accept you are a particularly vulnerable and naive girl, but, of course, that’s why you were targeted by your boyfriend.

“It is of great regret to me to learn that you continue to associate with Dean Hogg, because it seems to me that he is the root of all your problems.

“You come from a good, decent, law-abiding family and it must have caused great stress and distress to your parents to find you in this position.

“As long as he is in your life, you will be going down a spiral of criminal activity.”

Hogg – since released from prison – was in the public gallery but did not react the the judge’s comments.

Hume, of Thorndyke Avenue, Middlesbrough, admitted supplying a Class B drug and was given a three-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

The judge also ordered her to do 100 hours of unpaid work, and ten days of a rehabilitation activity to help her personal and domestic life.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said Hume’s mother was recovering from lung cancer, and her father has been left blind by a stroke and is still in hospital.

She told the judge: “This is a young girl who comes to court with previous good character, and but for pressure and coercion would unlikely be here.

“She is naive. She didn’t even know what the drug was.”

Mr Recorder Elliott told Hume: “You must now appreciate, although you didn’t at the time, that this is a very grave problem facing this country.

“Virtually every day, there are media reports about the problems with drugs being taken into prison. These had a significant value, more than £2,000.”