Woman who sold sexual pics of 'lotto gran' gets suspended sentence

Susanne Hinte hit the headlines when she claimed her Lotto ticket had been damaged in a washing machine

A former friend of a woman who hit the headlines when she claimed a possible £33m winning lottery ticket had been ruined in the wash has been convicted of disclosing sexual images of her.

Julie Howard sold intimate pictures of Susanne Hinte to a national newspaper, Worcester Magistrates' Court was told.

Howard, 38, who the court heard had needed the money, said Ms Hinte had "liked" the media attention.

Howard, from Worcester, received a suspended six-week jail term.

She was paid £750 for the pictures, which showed her then friend topless and wearing lingerie, the court heard.

'I was broke'

The images were sold to a national newspaper amid media coverage of grandmother-of-four Ms Hinte's failed claim for the huge jackpot, the court was told.

Ms Hinte told the trial she had been "horrified" the private pictures had been sold to a newspaper.

Asked what had motivated her to sell the images, Howard, of Ennerdale Close, Warndon, said: "I was broke - I needed some money desperately."

She told the court the pictures she profited from were already on dating websites and Ms Hinte had been given an opportunity to delete them.

Magistrates suspended Howard's prison term for 12 months and ordered her to pay costs of £200 and an £80 victim surcharge.

She had denied the charge, which was brought under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act.