A DRUG addict was given a suspended jail term for buying and sharing crack cocaine with a former child judo star, who was killed by a cocktail of drugs.

Austin Barnes, aged 30, went with Gina Jackson, aged 26, to collect the Class A drugs from a dealer in Tonge Moor and the pair returned to use them at his home in Clay Street, Bromley Cross.

They went to bed in the early hours of September 11 last year and Barnes awoke in the afternoon to find Ms Jackson unresponsive. She was later confirmed dead.

Tests showed Ms Jackson, a former youth judo player who competed at top tournaments including the Greater Manchester Youth Games, died of multiple drug toxicity.

In the presence of the victim's father Daniel Jackson and relatives, Barnes was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Bolton Crown Court yesterday, having earlier admitted one count of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine at Bolton Magistrates Court.

Judge Elliot Knopf said: "No sentence I can pass will bring Gina back. No sentence I would pass will go anywhere near making what perhaps Mr Jackson — I fully understand — may feel may be appropriate.

"The sentencing range may seem unsatisfactory as far as the family are concerned.

"They have lost a daughter who they cleared loved and cherished, but the court has to deal with matters in accordance with principle, and dispassionately."

Prosecutor Richard Dawson said after Barnes awoke to find Ms Jackson unresponsive, he dialled 999. Taking instructions from the call handler, he tried administering CPR unsuccessfully.

The post-mortem examination found alcohol, diazepam, cocaine, and morphine from heroin in Ms Jackson's bloodstream as well as metabolites of anti-depressants, cocaine and heroin.

Mr Dawson said: "In themselves, none of the substances would necessary cause death at the levels they were detected.

"However, the accumulation of them is likely to be more complex and unpredictable."

Martin Pizzey, for Barnes, said: "He feels acutely responsible in many ways for being present and about, and will carry that burden with him for the rest of his days.

"He's seen to be a facilitator rather than a drug dealer, with a view to sharing the drug between himself and this like-minded individual."

Ms Jackson's father read a victim statement to court in which he said his only daughter, who lived with her family in Long Lane, Breightmet, was not a drug addict.

He said she had been a successful judo player until she underwent a series of three operations to try to correct scoliosis of the back and turned to medication to relieve the pain and discomfort.

Mr Jackson said: "The change in Gina as a result of this was heartbreaking to see.

"She was such an outgoing, happy girl before. The surgery robbed her of her confidence."

He said his daughter told them of her use of various drugs but had never mentioned taking heroin.

He said: "We will never understand how heroin got into her system that night.

"It's left us guessing as to what happened. We miss her every day."

Barnes' 16-month suspended prison term includes a drug rehabilitation requirement and a rehabilitation activity for up to 20 days alongside an eight-month electronically-monitored 7pm-to-7am curfew.

An inquest held at Bolton Coroner's Court in April recorded a verdict that Ms Jackson died as a consequence of drug use.