A HMP Berwyn inmate has had a year added to his jail time after admitting he caused a woman to smuggle drugs into the prison.

Carl Hitchmough, aged 50, appeared before Mold Crown Court via video link on Thursday.

He admitted causing a person to convey a quantity of synthetic cannabinoid into HMP Berwyn on September 10 last year.

James Coutts, prosecuting, told the court that on the afternoon of September 10 a woman visited the prison.

Officers noticed her acting strangely, he said. She could not find the table she was meant to sit at in the visiting hall and eventually sat in the wrong seat.

When the Hitchmough entered, he didn’t recognise her and walked right past her.

Mr Coutts said when the pair did sit opposite each other, the woman appeared nervous - which heightened the suspicions of prison officers. She told staff it was her first visit.

She was seen handing him some kind of package, after which he was detained and searched.

A cling film-wrapped package was found in his underwear, which was later confirmed to contain 19 sheets of A4 paper soaked in the synthetic cannabinoid.

The woman was also arrested and searched after handing over the package to Hitchmough, Mr Coutts said.

Officers discovered a second package which she had concealed in her underwear, containing more sheets of the drug-soaked paper.

The two packages contained a total of almost 40 sheets, which in the prison would have been worth about £5,000, the court heard.

Andrew Green, defending, said: “I recognise and he recognises that this is serious because of his previous convictions, the custodial setting and the impact these drugs have on the inside and outside of custody.

“The sad feature of this case is it flies in the face of the good work he has been doing while at Berwyn.

“He is 50 and has made it clear that he has to change his life. When he is released, he wants to earn money the right way.”

The judge handed Hitchmough a 12 month jail sentence - to be served consecutively with his ongoing custodial sentence (after his original custodial sentence has been served.)

He also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the items seized during the day of the incident.