A SICK man in his sixties who admitted taking cocaine, three mobile phones and eight SD phone cards into HMP Berwyn in Wrexham has been jailed.

Clarence Licorish handed over the package during a prison visit to his son who, when challenged, said it was a birthday present for him.

Licorish, 63, of Bondman Close in Leicester, said he felt under pressure to do it and his son had said he would be beaten up if he did not organise the package.

Licorish, who has a number of illnesses and walks with a frame, claimed that two men and a woman he did not know carried him in and out of their car, drove him to Wrexham and gave him the package to hand over during visiting.

Licorish, who appeared at Mold Crown Court via a live television link from his local court, admitted the two offences from March 15 of taking the prohibited items into the prison and was jailed for 16 months.

Judge Niclas Parry said the sentence was quite exceptional and he could normally have expected a sentence starting at three-and-a-half years but it could go up to five years under judicial guidelines.

"You will understand that the availability of drugs within our prison establishments, particularly in North Wales, has reached alarming proportions," he said.

Drugs were valuable currency in prison, they caused disorder, violence, bullying and threats.

He said taking of drugs and other items into prisons merited an immediate custodial sentence.

Judge Parry said Licorish for no reason – there was no suggestion of duress – made a decision to travel all the way from Leicester to deliver a package containing a small amount of high purity cocaine with three mobile phones, a charger and eight SD cards.

He said the case was aggravated by the defendant's shocking criminal record with previous convictions for 153 offences – 31 of them drug-related.

He said Licorish had been convicted five times of supplying drugs and had received two significant prison sentences previously for supplying drugs.

The judge said he accepted that prison would be difficult for him in view of his health but the courts had taken that into account previously and had given him the chance of non-custodial sentences with no community requirements.

The court heard visited his son on March 13 and was seen to hand over a package.

He and the son were stopped, the package was recovered and the son said it was his birthday present.

The phones and cards were seized together with a gram of cocaine, which is prison would be valued at about £150.

Interviewed, Licorish initially denied doing it but changed his mind when shown CCTV footage.

He then claimed he had been sending his son money but because of financial difficulties he could not do so.

His son said he would be beaten up if a package was not delivered.

He was picked up by people he did not know and taken to Wrexham where he was provided with the package but he would not provide any details of the people or the vehicle.

Licorish and his barrister Sarah Phelan appeared via a live television link from a Leicester court.

Miss Phelan asked the court to take an exceptional and compassionate course by imposing a suspended sentence.

She said Licorish had attended court with a carer and had to be carried into the dock.

Her client suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, had a titanium plate in his spine and his mobility was severely restricted.

Licorish suffered from severe ill-health including pneumonia, sepsis, acute renal failure and lived in supported accommodation with carers four days a week.

It was a matter of grave concern that her client had not been able to get a medical report and his GP practice blamed insufficient staff.

Miss Phelan said if the sentence was more than 13 weeks he would lose his accommodation where he lived with his dog, his companion.

She said his mobility scooter had recently been stolen which had left him housebound.