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A mental health nurse has been jailed for her involvement in what is thought to be the UK's biggest prison drugs conspiracy after she struck up a relationship with an inmate.
Amy Hatfield was one of 17 people convicted for struggling illegal substances, weapons and mobile phones into HMP Lindholme, near Doncaster, between 2018 and 2020. Hatfield, 38, had a job as a mental health support worker at the jail at the time, when she became "infatuated" with a "heavily convicted" lag, Joseph Whittingham, in 2018.
Hatfield and Whittingham, 35, began a sexual relationship before she was recruited by her lover to be involved in the smuggling. At trial Judge Kirstie Watson said Whittingham "exploited" Hatfield's feelings for him before having banned items, including drugs, delivered to her.
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The judge told Hatfield: "When [Whittingham] first expressed feelings for you, instead of reporting it to your supervisors as you were trained to do, you embraced it." Sheffield Crown Court heard the relationship soon involved "sexual activity within the prison and the exchanging of images."
The judge added: "It must have been clear to you the impact that increased drug use was having, and yet you continued to flood HMP Lindholme with drugs and phones. You even brought in a knife."
In October 2019 Hatfield was stopped and searched on her way into work. Police found she was carrying £1million worth of contraband, including bags of ketamine, spice paper, MDMA, mobile phones and prescription drugs. She was also carrying four Ribena bottles with her which contained a total of about two litres of liquid spice.
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Officers then raided the mental health unit and found another litre of the synthetic cannabinoid. Hatfield was arrested, prompting an investigation into what officers soon discovered was a "highly complex criminal network" operating from inside the prison.
The investigation also found one prisoner had died and another fell into a coma for 10 days after ingesting the potent drug. The judge said the drug-related offences were "an instrument of exploitation, oppression and power" and "undermined discipline and good order."
The court heard Whittingham, 35, had a "leading role" in the operation. Among other recruits brought in by the lag were his wife, Lucy and father, Paul, who received payments for the contraband.
Sixteen defendants received sentences amounting to almost 90 years in total. Another defendant, William Francis, will be sentenced at a later date.
Hatfield received a 10-year-two-month sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, conspiracy to convey phones into prison, conveying knives into prison and money laundering.
Her lover, Whittingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, conspiracy to convey a knife into prison and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He was handed a sentence of 11 years and four months.
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