by Paul Hooper

A civilian police worker stole a bag of cocaine from the evidence room at Margate Station.

Lucy Gedge, 35, took the Class A drug - which had been part of a drugs haul, and threw away the empty packet, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

But a fellow property officer at the station spotted the bag in a bin - and alerted her bosses.

Gedge, of Prince Andrew Road, Broadstairs , was questioned and claimed she had stolen the cocaine under pressure from an abusive ex-boyfriend.

Prosecutor Donna East said Gedge, who had worked at Margate Police Station for eight years, denied taking drugs.

But a hair sample was sent away for analysis and showed she was a drugs user.

She later admitted stashing "the white powder" - valued at more than £1,600 - at her home, and when officers arrived they also discovered scales used by drugtakers, the court heard.

Gedge, who wept throughout the 45-minute hearing, admitted stealing property from Kent Police and possessing drugs.

Miss East added she had claimed in her interview that she had been in an abusive relationship and had stolen the seized drugs for her ex-boyfriend.

The court heard the man was later arrested but was never charged - and Gedge had never made any formal complaints of abuse.

Miss East added that the Crown Prosecution Service "did not accept what she claimed in her interview".

Gedge, who was later sacked and now works at a florists, was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

Richard Evans, defending, said Gedge, who has since remarried, had left school with 11 GCSEs. She has been diagnosed with a personality disorder and was receiving treatment.

"She knows what she did was a clear breach of trust and has shown genuine remorse."