A "BUSY" couple of drugs dealers from the Gwendreath Valley were caught red handed twice in the same year, a judge heard today.

Mark Griffith and Ruth Richards were selling amphetamine even though Richards had inherited £22,000 from her grandfather's estate.

Swansea crown court heard that all the money had gone - some of it on their own drugs habit.

Griffiths, aged 33, and Richards, 38, admitted possessing the Class B drug with intent to supply on February 28 and September 22, 2014.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said police stopped a Volkswagen in Betws at 3.15am on February 28 and discovered seven wraps of amphetamine in Richards' handbag, along with £479 in cash. Text messages on her mobile telephone made it clear they had been dealing in the drug.

In September a community support officer saw Griffith in the same car in the centre of Ammanford. A specially trained police dog sniffed out a bag hidden under the car's battery containing five bags of amphetamine.

A search of the couple's home in Clos Gwili, Cwmgwili, uncovered almost 100 grams of the drug.

Mr Jones said both Griffith and Richards denied, at first, being involved in dealing. After the police disclosed the results of examinations of their telephones they fell silent.

David Williams, the barrister representing both Griffith and Williams, said they had been dependent on amphetamine for a long time - Griffith since he was 13 years old.

He said it was true that Richards had inherited £22,000 in February, 2014, the very month she had been caught in Betws. But the money had gone and she was now behind with her rent.

However, they were now making serious efforts to rid themselves of the addiction.

Judge Huw Davies said they had been busy dealers and had been caught red handed not once but twice.

Griffith and Richards were each jailed for 14 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for the community.