A BURY cleaner who paid £10,000 to have her lover's wife killed has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.

Hayley Marion Johnston, aged 43, from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to a charge of soliciting an undercover policeman to commit murder.

Johnston admitted agreeing to pay the officer £10,000 to kill Rosalynd Johnston, who was the wife of Hayley's long-term lover.

Johnston was arrested on May 19 last year and later charged with conspiracy to murder. She pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court in October.

Detective Inspector Bill Beddows of Bury CID said: "This was a calculated attempt to commit murder and Hayley Johnston is a very dangerous woman.

"She was prepared to pay a complete stranger to kill her lover's wife and was more than willing to go through with the deal.

"The impact this has had on Rosalynd Johnston and her family is unimaginable, we must not forget she is the innocent victim in all of this. I only hope today's sentence can help Rosalynd look to the future and hopefully close this terrible chapter in her life.

"This was a particularly difficult and lengthy case for all the officers involved and I would like to praise them for their hard work and determination."

Johnston was employed as a cleaner at a Bury call centre where her lover Stuart Johnston also worked.

Rosalynd Johnston said: "It is difficult to put into words the affect this nightmare has had on me and the children.

"Since the police came to tell me what they had uncovered it has been a living hell, I still can't believe she thought she could get away with this.

"The thought that she wanted to have me killed and leave my children without their mother is terrifying, how could someone plan to do something like this?

"I only hope now that we can begin to get on with our lives and put this whole mess behind us."