Megan Saunders supplied cannabis with her friends Orienne McCracken and Katherine Stubbs.

The 19-year-old was pulled over on their final day in charge as the three were driving to the airport to collect Saunders’ boyfriend.​ They were carrying cannabis worth about £350, £1,700 in cash, a set of digital scales, and more than 300 small plastic bags for packaging the class B drug.

Saunders, 19, was pulled over by police, along with Orienne McCracken, 19, and Katherine Stubbs, 20, in the early morning as they drove to the airport to collect Saunders’ boyfriend.

The boyfriend was not named in court and had not been charged with an offence, although he is known to police.

Jonathan Sank, prosecuting, said: “The offenders were running the drug dealing business on behalf of Saunders’ boyfriend while he was on holiday.

“The work was on a full-time basis for about a week and lots of money was being made, but it is accepted by the Crown that it was not for their financial gain.” The three women cried as recorder John Bate-Williams told them the conviction would stay with them for ever. He said: “If any of you had spent half a day in a crown court anywhere in the county, even in this court, you would have seen the valuable lives ruined by the use of drugs.

“Drug users committing crimes for their drugs, someone in that same dock for knifing somebody because a drug deal went wrong.

“You decided to take over as what can best be described as sub-contractors for the despicable dealer.” Stubbs, of Ashton Road, McCracken, of Payley Drive, and Saunders, of Northway, all in Wokingham, had pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a class B drug with intent to supply at Reading Crown Court on February 26.

They were sentenced to four months in a young offenders institute, suspended for 18 months. They were each ordered to pay a £300 share of prosecution costs at Reading Crown Court on Friday, April 10.