A pharmacy assistant who illegally supplied prescription drugs to a vulnerable addict has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Cherie Madge, 42, mailed "parcels full" of controlled substances over many months to troubled internet "soul mate" Shaun Bowmer.

Carlisle Crown Court heard a former partner of alcohol and drug-dependant Mr Bowmer, 35, had once texted Madge, begging her not to send any more of the patient-returned medication she sourced from her place of work in Essex.

But Madge continued to do so. On February 11, 2016, Mr Bowmer, who lived in the Penrith area, died due to "drugs toxicity".

A post mortem revealed elevated amounts of tramadol - "likely to be sufficient to cause death in isolation".

Morphine was also present at a level "above its quoted therapeutic range".

Madge admitted twice supplying Mr Bowmer - whom she never met - with tramadol from her own prescription. But she denied illegally sending him four other drugs - class A morphine-based Zomorph and Sevredol, along with class C diamorphine and lorazepam.

She went on trial at the crown court, but was convicted, unanimously, by a jury.

Giving evidence during the trial, Mr Bowmer's fiancée, Stephanie Cooper, described how "parcels, full of these drugs" arrived at their house. "I was angry," said Ms Cooper.

Madge, however, protested her innocence, denying she supplied the four drugs and claiming she was being made a "scapegoat".

She was jailed by Judge Peter Davies.

During the sentencing hearing, lawyer Michael Edmonds mitigated for Madge, saying she had "devastated" by Mr Bowmer's death.

She had an "exemplary record of conduct" at the pharmacy before a "terrible and unacceptable misjudgment". She has since resigned.

Jailing mother-of-one Madge, of Harlow, Essex, Judge Davies told her she was "persistently reckless in the extreme".

"It was like a sweet shop that was permanently open for him, and him alone," he said.

"It is not an exaggeration to say, but for you he may be alive today."

Judge Davies added: "The fact that his death occurred cannot be ignored, and it is a seriously aggravating feature."