A COUPLE who had been accused of blackmail had the charge against them dropped after the woman admitted witness intimidation.

Joleen Phelps, 39, and her husband Philip, 49, had been said to have made demands with menaces from a man during the last week and a half of January this year.

But after she admitted two counts of intimidating a witness prosecutors said they would not seek a trial on the blackmail charge.

Joleen admitted that she bought a phone from a supermarket knowing it would be used to contact the victim when she appeared at Swindon Crown Court.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said that after careful consideration they had decided to accept her basis of plea.

“She accepts she purchased a mobile phone from Asda on January 22 and gave it to a third party knowing it would be used in the commission of offences in counts two and three,” he said.

When the judge asked what he meant by ‘third party’ he replied: “There are other members of the family: there is a grown up son”.

Phelps, of Brinkworth Road, Royal Wootton Bassett, pleaded guilty to two counts of witness intimidation.

Nicholas Clough, defending, asked for the case to be adjourned so that the probation service could compile a pre-sentence report.

The case was adjourned to August 4 and she was released on conditional bail until then.

He said: “I am directing that there is a pre-sentence report. You should not assume from that that there will not necessarily be a custodial sentence. All options are open.”

Philip, of the same address, appeared in court in a wheelchair to hear the three charges against him would be dropped after his wife pleaded guilty.

It is believed that no one else has been charged in connection with the offences.