THREE people involved in a drugs ring walked free from court after a judge was told how they had turned around their lives since they were arrested more than a year ago.

Recorder Neil Davey, QC, said the anxiety caused by the length of time the Darlington trio have had to wait for their case to reach court was a substantial punishment.

The judge imposed suspended prison sentences on the three after telling them anyone involved in the trafficking of Class A drugs usually goes straight to jail.

He said each of the defendants also had unique mitigation, which took their cases out of the ordinary and meant he did not have to stick to sentencing guidelines.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Lauren Gardiazabal and Susan Watson were arrested in July 2009, and Michael Atkinson was detained in January last year.

Gardiazabal and Atkinson, both aged 24, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, and 28-year-old Watson pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

The court was told that some of the group have got jobs and they have all turned around their lives since their arrests, and that their involvement in the illegal drugs trade was limited.

Gardiazabal’s barrister, Ian Mullarkey, said she had a menial role in the conspiracy and was put under pressure from her then-boyfriend while she was pregnant.

Dan Cordey, mitigating for Atkinson, said his client agreed to join the drugs ring but withdrew four days later – without ever taking part – after “thinking long and hard”.

Christopher Morrison, for Watson, told the court that she started using cocaine socially after splitting up with her boyfriend, but had since kicked her habit.

Watson, of Brougham Street, has since secured work at a call centre, and Mr Morrison said: “She is a lady who has had a lesson that her liberty is a valuable thing.”

Atkinson moved to Newcastle after his arrest and now lives in South Stanley with his partner and newborn baby, and works for a credit management company.

Mother-of-one Gardiazabal, of Olympic Street, has split from the boyfriend who was said to have got her involved in the plot, from which she made no financial gain.

She and Atkinson received eight-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, and were ordered to undergo 12 months of Probation Service supervision.

Watson, who was said to have been a short-term custodian of £2,000-worth of cocaine, was given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for a year, with supervision.