A GRANDMOTHER who claimed she had turned to drugs to tackle a weight problem was warned yesterday she could face jail.

Linda Speight told a jury at Teesside Crown Court she had weighed 13 stones six years ago, when someone told her she would lose weight if she took amphetamine.

Speight, who now weighs nine and a half stones, told the court she had been planning to stop taking the drug when police executed a search warrant at her home.

Speight, 50, of Cheriton Green, Pallister Park, Middlesbrough, denied possession of amphetamine - known to users as speed - with intent to supply it to another, but the jury convicted her of the charge.

Judge Gerard Harkins remanded her in custody for sentencing next week, to allow for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

He told the jury: "You have convicted the defendant on clear and compelling evidence."

Judge Harkins warned that Speight faces an inevitable prison sentence. He said he had formed the impression Speight was making money from the possession of amphetamine with intent to supply it.

Police discovered amphetamine in Speight's home in April. The prosecution alleged the drugs had a street value of between £1,350 to £2,700.

However, Speight told the court she had paid £250 to the woman she normally bought the drug from.

She said she intended to cut down on the amount of amphetamine she was taking each day. She had been using about seven grammes each day and was hoping to cut down and come off the drug.

Speight said she bought such a large quantity of the drug intending never to buy it again, and had acquired it about four days before the police arrived at her home.

Speight told the court six years earlier she had been overweight, she had felt awful and uncomfortable. She suffered from depression, arthritis and vertigo.

But she said taking amphetamine helped her lose weight and she also felt it helped with her depression and arthritis.

Speight said: "It just lifts the depression a little bit. I just feel it seems to ease the arthritis a bit in my knees.