A Rugeley woman and her boyfriend have been sentenced to nine years in jail for drug smuggling, friends say. The couple have been languishing in a Spanish prison.

They have been there for nine months for smuggling 13 kilos of heroin. The sentence could be increased or decreased following a two-month investigation by the authorities.

The maximum sentence that could have been imposed was 15 years.

Rachel Dobson, thought to be in her 20s, was stopped at Madrid Airport last October after arriving on a flight from Peru.

She been held at the Centro Penitenciario Madrid One prison, where she has already spent one birthday, on December 2, behind bars. Her boyfriend’s details are not yet known.

Writing on a Facebook page, the Rachel Dobson Appreciation Group which has 212 members, Dobson’s mother wrote: “They both got nine years pending a two-month investigation, then they get issued with final papers which will state more, or less, years.

“So with good behaviour and other means, they will only do half of it, or possibly be out in three. Rachel said as long as I can stay strong and cope, then she can.

“It’s not so bad because she can now apply to come back to England to get parole and it just gets better and better. Time will fly, my heart won’t break, the day is arriving when she opens our gate. Any definite news or change, I will let you all know. Love you Rachel and all your friends.”

Gary Wood, who set up the Facebook group, describes Rachel as a “true and much-loved friend” on the site.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said the department was looking into the case.