SEVEN people have been jailed today following an investigation into the supply of class A drugs in St Helens and Leigh.

Five men, one woman and a 17-year-old boy were sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court following a joint collaboration between the Titan regional organised crime unit and the St Helens CID organised crime team.

The investigation saw an undercover police officer buy heroin and crack cocaine from drug dealers on the streets of St Helens.

Posing as a drug dealer, the officer's work was supported by an in-depth covert investigation.

Members of the group were seen dealing drugs in St Helens and Leigh.

A number of them were arrested during a high profile strike day in St Helens in November.

Today Robert Wenton, 35, and Katie Rawson, 34, both from St Helens, were jailed for six years and two years and six months respectively for conspiring to supply heroin and cocaine.

Fellow St Helens residents Dean Weaver, 25, and Calum Ogden, 21, were imprisoned for three years and four months and two years and four months respectively for supplying the class A drugs.

William Osu, 25, from Liverpool, was sentenced to four years behind bars for conspiring to supply cocaine.

Michael Eccleston, 18, also from Liverpool, was jailed for a year and four months for supplying heroin and cocaine.

A 17 year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also charged with supplying the same drugs and was given a two-year rehabilitation order.

Six of the defendants pleaded guilty.

Rawson was found guilty following a trial earlier this month.

Ten people were jailed earlier this year as part of the same operation.

Terence Thompson, 51, from St Helens, was imprisoned for three years for supplying heroin and cocaine.

Fellow St Helens residents Kinley Johnson, 42, Mark O’Neill, 48, were both jailed for two years and eight months for being concerned in the supply of the class A drugs.

Kieron Stubbs, 26, also from St Helens, was given the same sentence for supplying heroin and cocaine and possessing the drugs with intent to supply them.

Stephen Duffy, 26, of no fixed abode, was imprisoned for three years and four months for the same offences.

Matthew Cottington, 34, and Melanie Clash, 41, both from St Helens, were jailed for two years and two years and six months respectively for supplying heroin and cocaine.

Louis Barton, 23, from Prescot, and Wayne Phillips, 29, from St Helens, were imprisoned for two years and five months and two years and four months respectively for being concerned in the supply of the drugs.

Gillian Latham, 35, from St Helens, was sentenced to two years and two months behind bars for supplying the drugs.

Detective sergeant Steven O’Neill said: “Organised crime groups like this, who deal in the wholesale supply and distribution of controlled drugs, don’t care about the impact that supply of drugs has in our communities.

“But I would like to reassure the decent members of our communities that we are committed to tackling the supply of drugs and we will continue to proactively tackle criminal gangs who think nothing of flooding the streets with dangerous drugs in order to profit from other people's misery.

“The main focus of this operation was to reduce the likelihood of children being criminally exploited and hopefully today’s sentencing will prevent other children and juveniles from becoming embroiled in a life of drug dealing and criminality.

“Feedback following the operation has highlighted the positive impact it has had on the area.

"Today’s sentences will further assist by removing the main core of the crime group that was operating in the area.”

Anyone with information about drug dealing in their community can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.