ELEVEN defendants admitted at previous hearings at Durham Crown Court of being concerned in the supply of heroin in the Chester-le-Street area, between December 7, 1999, and June 8, 2000.

Kevin Watson, 41, of Poplar Street, Paul Thomas Cox, 24, of Wynyard, and Thomas Ridley Chadwick, 34, of The Crescent, all Chester-le-Street, were each jailed for seven years.

Shantelle Watkins, 24, of South Street, and Lisa Marie Slevin, of Poplar Street, both Chester-le-Street, were each jailed for six years.

Keith Johnson, 26, of Taylor Street, Catchgate, near Stanley, was jailed for four years; Michael John Waugh, 26, of Reay Court, Chester-le-Street, was jailed for three years and six months; Philip Bell, 26, of St Barnabas, Burnmoor, near Chester-le-Street, was given a three-year prison sentence, and John Frederick Lee, 38, of Derwent Close, Sacriston, also near Chester-le-Street, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.

Beverley Renwick, formerly of Netherton Close, Chester-le-Street, was given a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was placed on probation supervision for two years.

Sentence on Carlo Fella, 28, of John Street, No Place, near Stanley, was adjourned for three weeks and he was further remanded in custody.