Pair jailed for overdose death

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The mother and half-sister of a 16-year-old girl who died of a heroin overdose when they failed to call an ambulance were jailed yesterday.

Andrea Townsend, 46, and Gemma Evans, 25, were found guilty of the manslaughter of Carly Townsend through gross negligence at a trial last month.

The two-week trial heard that both Townsend and Evans knew that the teenager had taken heroin that day and Evans had given the Class A drug to her.

The 16-year-old was put to bed in the recovery position at the family home in Pwll, Llanelli, south Wales, to "sleep off" the effects of the drug and was later found dead.

Townsend was jailed for two years and Evans was jailed for four years at Cardiff Crown Court.

The judge, Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, said of Carly Townsend: "In her short and unhappy life she had a considerable history of abuse of drugs, including heroin."

He said that only days before she died, she had announced her intention to be free of the drug but "the power of the fatally addictive drug" proved too much for her.

The judge told the pair they had both failed to get medical help for the teenager despite knowing she was suffering the effects of an overdose.

He said: "You both knew Carly had been in possession of at least two bags of heroin and that her resistance was low as a result of being in custody nine days ago. You knew that one bag could kill her."

The judge added that both women knew the symptoms of overdose, having personal experience of the state through their own drug abuse.

"Nevertheless, you both left her in the recovery position in the hope she would sleep it off," he said.