A WOMAN changed a doctor's prescription in an attempt to get more medication, a court heard yesterday.

Mary Susan Vine, of Binchester Croft, Newton Aycliffe, increased the amounts of four drugs on her prescription before handing it to Rowlands Chemist, in Darlington.

South Durham Magistrates Court heard that Vine, 41, admitted altering the prescription after chemist Karen Hibbert showed concern about the unusually large amounts prescribed and decided to telephone her doctor.

James Luke, in mitigation, said his client suffered from a number of illnesses following a stomach operation in 1996.

He said Vine changed the prescription because she felt her doctor was unsympathetic to the level of pain she was experiencing.

"She has recently changed to another doctor, who is more empathetic and the problem has been resolved," he said.

Ciaran Grogan, for Vine, told magistrates in Darlington that she had previous convictions for forging prescriptions in 2001, and last year received a two-year suspended prison sentence for credit card fraud.

Vine pleaded guilty to forgery and dishonestly obtaining £266 worth of medication in January.

Magistrates decided to transfer the case to Teesside Crown Court for sentencing. No date for the hearing was set, and Vine was granted unconditional bail.