THE girlfriend of the drug-dealing former AFC Darwen boss Kenny Langford has been spared jail after being found guilty of helping him to launder just over £100,000.

A jury at Preston Crown Court heard how Sarah Hindle spent the money on a £35,000 Mercedes convertible, luxury holidays, a Range Rover for Langford and a spa pool for his Darwen home.

Hindle, 32, was found guilty of money laundering and now faces a Proceeds of Crime hearing to recover the stolen cash on July 20.

Speaking after the case Detective Sergeant Andrew Osbaldeston said the conviction should act as a timely reminder that police will look to prosecute those who assist criminals in their illegal activity.

DS Osbaldeston said: “Any sort of criminal organisation like Kenny Langford was running needs a means of cleaning the proceeds of that criminality

“The initial investigation suggests that Sarah was the means of doing that, “This should act as a message that even when we convict criminal gangs, those involved in assisting and cleaning that criminal money will also be prosecuted.”

Langford, 49, was jailed for four and a half years after running a £300,000 family cannabis business across Lancashire and Manchester.

Prosecutor Paul Brookwell told the court Hindle, of Sough Road in Darwen, received large amounts of cash to pay into her bank accounts and knew it came from Langford’s “criminal enterprise”.

The court heard during three years before Langford was arrested for conspiracy to supply cannabis in 2014, he made numerous large cash payments into Hindle’s account. She then paid the money back to Langford via cheques, therefore laundering it.

The court heard she laundered the money between February 2011 and October 2014,.

Hindle was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge.