AN EGREMONT woman suffered a fatal collapse after taking a cocktail of drugs which included a prescription painkiller sold to her by an associate, a court heard.

A barrister told Carlisle Crown Court that the pills taken by Linda Short in May 2018 before her death included gabapentin, which was sold to her by 35-year-old Kerry Marie Woodburn.

She admitted illegally supplying the drug.

Prosecutor Andrew Evans said the defendant was prescribed the gabapentin pills by her GP. She had known Linda Short for many years.

Miss Short suffered from various health conditions but she was known to be somebody who sought out prescription drugs from other people, including on one occasion from Woodburn.

The barrister said: “In the early hours of May 6, 2018, Linda Short collapsed at home.”

She was taken to hospital but died the next day.

A pathologist concluded that any one of three drugs found in her system - gabapentin, codeine and fluoxetine (Prozac) - could have proved fatal, and all would have contributed to Miss Short’s collapse and subsequent cardiac arrest.

Her fatal collapse happened 40 hours after a man had given her a box of Nurofen Plus containing the codeine, and some three weeks after the same man witnessed her buying prescription drug boxes from Woodburn.

The court heard there were multiple causes for Miss Short’s death.

Mr Evans said that the sister of Miss Short found pill boxes in her home, with stickers bearing the defendant’s name.

Woodburn, of New Street, Egremont, claimed she had no idea how Miss Short had got the pill boxes.

The dead woman’s phone was also checked. On it police found a message from the defendant, asking her if she was interested in another prescription drug.

The barrister then outlined Woodburn’s response when questioned by police about the tragedy and about the gabapentin pills found in Miss Short’s home.

He said: “She suggested Miss Short may have stolen them.” Kim Whittlestone, for Woodburn, said she had been in an abusive relationship, which led to her abusing alcohol and prescription medication. But she had turned her life around and was now a very different person.

She met Miss Short at the drug and alcohol support organisation Unity. “She fully acknowledges and is remorseful for her involvement in this offence,” said the barrister. “This was one vulnerable adult supplying a class C drug to another.”

Recorder Eric Lamb said the defendant reacted badly to a trauma a few years ago. He imposed a 30 week jail term, suspending the sentence for two years, and ordering that she complete 25 days of rehabilitation.