A JUDGE has warned of the evils of heroin while jailing three dealers for giving the drug to a vulnerable teenager.

Judge Tim Hewitt said the death of Lilli Brown, 17, was "a graphic illustration of the dangers of heroin abuse".

She was found dead after taking a cocktail of drugs on January 2 at a house in North Port Road, Stockton.

Newcastle Crown Court heard yesterday how she had pooled money with Anthony McMaster, 31, Mark Gibben, 31, and Lisa Brown, 26, to buy heroin.

A post-mortem examination also found morphine, methadone, Ecstasy and a derivative of cocaine in her system.

McMaster, of Violet Close, Norton, Stockton, was jailed for 21 months after admitting being concerned in the supply of a class A drug.

Gibben, of Borough Road, Middlesbrough, was imprisoned for two years. He had admitting supplying heroin at an earlier hearing. Brown, also of Borough Road, was jailed for 18 months after admitting supplying heroin.

The court heard that Gibben and Lisa Brown, who was not related to Lilli, collected the drug while McMaster waited at the house with the teenager.

Judge Hewitt told McMaster: "She was very clearly a very vulnerable girl. You should, along with the other two, have had a greater degree of responsibility."