A ROMANIAN prostitute who was found with a taser and a tear gas canister in her handbag has been jailed.

Preston Crown Court heard on November 12 police went to a house being used as a brothel in Accrington Road, Blackburn.

Police found Ionela Fieraru, 29, and her husband, Ionut Pompiliu Barosu, in an upstairs bedroom and officers discovered the taser and a CS canister.

Joseph Allman, prosecuting, said the defendant told police she had brought them from Romania and it was legal to have them in that country.

He said: “The taser and the CS canister were both dismantled by an expert who examined them and said they were both in normal working order.

“The taser was charged up.

“It sparked when it was pressed.”

The court heard Fieraru had only been in the country for three weeks before she was arrested.

Rachel Woods, defending, said the defendant’s time in custody leading up to sentencing had been a shock to the system.

The court heard she had an unhappy childhood, with little parental influence and by the time she was a teenager she was effectively independent from her family.

Mrs Woods said: “She managed to obtain a high school education in Romania, which is free, and intended to complete a beauty course in Romania at college but she did not have the money to pay for that.”

“She was 19 when she started working in the sex industry in Bucharest.

“In her country items like these are not illegal and she had been involved in an incident at that time which had caused her to discharge one of those weapons.

“Police were involved and no action was taken.”

The court heard the defendant arrived in the country by coach and had bought the taser and CS canister before she travelled to the UK.

Fieraru was also going to continue in the same line of work as a prostitute in the UK, the court heard.

Mrs Woods said: “She came here because the same work was much better paid.

“Her intention was to raise as much money as quickly as possible before returning back to Romania because she had a four-year-old child, who was being brought up by her mother-in-law.

“She intends to return to Romania as soon as possible. She will not in fact have the status to remain in this country, she does not fulfil the criteria to be a citizen.”

Fieraru, of Accrington Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to possessing the taser and the CS canister and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Judge Heather Lloyd said: “The stun gun discharge would have entered its target, it’s designed to stun or render the victim incapacitated for a short time. It’s dangerous.

“You say both items are legal in Romania.

“Each device is illegal in the UK, one might think you would make yourself aware of the legality of these items if you are living her.

“You told police that should you need to use either item you would do so.

“I take into account your co-operation with the police. I take into account your guilty plea.

“Any time you have served in prison will be taken into account.”