Former East Lancashire accountant's 50-a-day painkiller habit

11:40am Tuesday 30th September 2008

A FORMER accountant from Burnley who developed an addiction to pain killers tried to pass forged prescriptions at a Blackburn chemist.

Blackburn magistrates heard Sara Nazurally had been convicted of the same offence on numerous previous occasions as she attempted to feed her 50 tablets a day habit.

And defence solicitor David Leach said it was a “miracle” his client was still alive after 15 years of abusing the drug coproxamol.

Nazurally, 38, of Eastern Avenue, Burnley, pleaded guilty to two charges of making a false instrument and two of using it to induce a pharmacist to accept it as genuine.

She was committed on bail to Preston Crown Court for sentence after the magistrates ruled their powers of punishment were insufficient.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said Nazurally had gone into the Alliance pharmacy in Preston New Road, Blackburn, with a prescription for 220 coproxamol tablets which were prescribed to her.

The chemist was suspicious when she returned four days later with a prescription for the same quantity. He dispensed 40 tablets and asked her to come back the following day when he would have more stocks in.

The police were informed and when Nazurally returned the following day she was arrested. A prescription which had been amended was found in her purse.

Miss Allan said Nazurally had nine convictions for 33 similar offences. She was made subject to community supervision by Burnley magistrates in February and prior to that had received a custodial sentence.

“There are convictions from several different courts and this lady is obviously prepared to travel so she doesn’t attract attention to herself.”

Mr Leach said Nazurally had held her job as an accountant until the imposition of the custodial sentence.

He said she had first been prescribed coproxamol after injuring her back in a car accident 15 years ago.

Initially it was to deal with physical symptoms but following the death of her father and her sister dying in a house fire she developed psychological problems and the use of the pain killers helped her with those.

Mr Leach said: “She currently weighs between six-and-a-half and seven stones and it is amazing the drugs haven’t taken her life,” he said.

“This is as near to a victimless crime as you are ever going to get. She has always paid for the drugs she has received it has simply been the act of handing over the forged prescription.”