OF COURSE it was a shock for the mother of a teenage Strensall drug-dealer when she saw her son jailed for a year - especially as it was she who shopped him.

Clearly, for Barbara Medd, mother of 18-year-old Mark, the decision must have been agonising, but she can console herself that far from this being a terrible act of betrayal she had committed a supreme act of decency, love and motherhood.

Imagine the mental and emotional torture she endured before casting aside naturally selfish feelings to conclude that turning him in was the only way of possibly preventing someone else's addiction, injury or even death.

Ultimately, she knew that it also had to be in the best interests of Mark. Had she not acted now - had he been caught when he was older - he could have faced between two and four years behind bars.

The difference between her and too many other parents in Britain is that she discovered what was going on. She was aware of the menace that had overtaken him. Sadly, there are parents who remain unaware or worse still, blinkered.

The recorder at York Crown Court, Martin Bethel QC, knew of Mrs Medd's painful decision. He said his heart went out to her. Our heart goes out to her too. But she made the right decision.

We salute her bravery.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.