THREE Oswestry drug dealers were sent to jail by a Shrewsbury Crown Court judge for their part in up to two county lines operations.

They were among six defendants sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday, September 2 for their role in a county lines operation - that police labelled Operation Alps - that allowed heroin and crack cocaine to seep onto the streets of Oswestry.

David Hulse – originally from Liverpool but now of Cornovii Gardens in Oswestry – was jailed for six years for two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in the town between June 2016 and January 2018.

The 39-year-old, who was also referred to in court by his nickname "Gravy Dave" will serve both sentences concurrently.

Donna Wynstanley, 44 and of Weston Rhyn, was handed a combined sentence of five-and-a-half years for both her role with Hulse, and as part of Operation Ark in 2018 to 2019.

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Thirdly, Robert Wilson, 44 and of Hazel Grove in Oswestry, received four years and five months for his role as a street level dealer for Operation Ark in 2019.

He was also sentenced for assisting in the activity of an organised crime group (OCG) during Operation Alps.

Three defendants were spared jail for their roles, with 52-year-old Susan Chadwick, of Swan Lane in Oswestry, receiving an 18-month community order plus 30 days of rehabilitation activity.

She was convicted of allowing Oliver Dean – who failed to attend sentencing – to use her property to sell drugs.

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Andrew Emberton, whose representative Robert Edwards denied that he sold drugs, insisting instead he was dealing tobacco, narrowly avoided an immediate custodial sentence despite Judge John Butterfield KC’s rejection of this claim.

The 32-year-old, from Llynclys, received a 16-month sentence suspended for two years.

Edward Goodheart, 47 and from Ellesmere, was also spared jail with an 11-month sentence suspended for 18 months.

Prosecutor Simon Parry told the court that all six defendants had been arrested as part of Operation Alps, running from 2018-19 with varying levels of involvement.

He said that Hulse ran the Oswestry side of the operation, working for unknown members of a Liverpool OCG that supplied him with crack cocaine and heroin which he then packaged up and dealt.

Wynstanley, a user, was then drafted in to supply to pay off a debt and she also monitored phones for both operations, including the infamous ‘Boris Line’ as part of Operation Ark.

Hulse and Wynstanley both sent off ‘flare messages’ to up to 167 customers.

In mitigation, Paul Smith – for Hulse – said his client had shown ‘genuine remorse’ and that a prison sentence could have ‘serious impact’ on his young family.

He added that Hulse had also turned his life around.

Aaron Lyn-Kew, for Wynstanley, argued that she had also shown remorse and had taken positive steps to leave the drug environment she was in, and was also awaiting a cancer diagnosis.

Lee Egan, for Wilson, called for a suspended sentence for his client as he too was also a user drafted in to sell drugs after Mr Parry had earlier said that he had been caught with drug paraphenlia and was observed selling drugs in Shelf Bank.

The court heard that Emberton denied selling drugs and was described as having a ‘lonely and boring life’ but he did admit driving Hulse to pick up drugs in Wrexham, where Wynstanley also attended through Goodheart.

Goodheart was also described as a user who admitted letting his car be used for drug trips.

After passing sentence, Judge Butterfield said those committed into custody would serve half on licence.