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Kuntal Patel, 37, from Stratford, east London, has been jailed for three years for possession of a deadly toxin after fantasising about poisoning her mother

A graphic designer who was inspired by Breaking Bad to fantasise about poisoning her mother after she forbade her from marrying the man she loved has been jailed for three years for possession of a deadly toxin.

Barclays Bank worker Kuntal Patel, from Stratford, east London, had wished her 'selfish and controlling' mother Meena Patel dead after the 61-year-old was 'hell-bent' on breaking up her engagement, a court was told. 

During the trial at Southwark Crown Court, the court heard the 37-year-old contacted a dealer in the U.S through the 'dark web' and said she needed a 'tasteless' and deadly toxin to get her mother 'out of the way'.

It was alleged Kuntal developed a murder plot after becoming 'addicted' to the American TV series and watching an episode in which drug lord Walter White kills an enemy with ricin-laced tea.

But while Kuntal admitted fantasising about her mother's death, she denied ever intending to kill her.

Kuntal insisted the plot was purely a fantasy and she had wanted to use the poison - which prosecutors alleged she slipped into her mother's Diet Coke - to take her own life.

The jury of six men and six women, which had deliberated for just over three hours, cleared her of attempted murder.

But they convicted Kuntal of acquiring a biological agent or toxin - the first time someone has been prosecuted under the Biological Weapons Act.

Kuntal had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to acquire a biological agent or toxin.

Sentencing her today, Justice Rabinder Singh said Kuntal had endured 'a prolonged period of severe stress' and had committed the offences after seeing 'no way out'.

The judge sentenced Kuntal to three years in jail for acquiring the poison in December 2013.

She was given a further 18 months for attempting to acquire poison for the second time between December and January 2014, which will run concurrently.

A third count of attempting to acquire a deadly toxin was ordered to lie on file.

Mr Justice Singh said: 'You have worked hard both in higher education and in your profession as a graphic designer throughout your adult life.

'In my view you had to endure a prolonged period of severe stress in the two years leading up to your offences. It is clear that you were a devoted and obedient daughter.

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Kuntal ordered deadly poison - which was sent to her concealed in a red candle (right) - off the 'dark web' but said she had only fantasised about killing her mother Meena Patel, 61 (left)

'It is also clear that your mother was a devoted and caring mother, who worked hard to raise you and your sister, having been separated from your father when you were very young.

He added: 'On the other hand, in the two-year period leading up to your offences, she subjected you to a barrage of abuse, often verbal and at times physical, for example, slapping you.

'She would send you emails and texts of the most vile kind, abusing not only you but also your friends and in particular the man you wished to marry.

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The court heard Kuntal, pictured,  committed the offences after living in a 'pressure cooker of emotion'

'You found yourself in the autumn of 2013 torn between your devotion to your mother and family as a dutiful daughter, and your desire to find happiness for yourself with the man that you wanted to spend a lifetime with.

'Ultimately you could see no way out and became increasingly depressed and isolated, contemplating killing your mother and yourself.' 

Kuntal, who appeared in the dock in a blue and white long sleeved top, wept as the sentence was read.

Her sister Poonam, 33, who attended every day of the trial, was also seen crying in the public gallery. 

During the trial, the court heard Meena worked as a community relations officer at Newham Council for Racial Equality and sat on the bench at Thames Magistrates' Court in east London.

But she barred her daughter from marrying the man she loved, describing Niraj Kakad, who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, as a 'black b******'.

She also instructed her daughter to 'behave like a decent person, you are not a white woman'.

The court heard she even banged her head against the walls and said she would kill herself if Kuntal left for the U.S to marry Mr Kakad.

She slapped and strangled both Kuntal and Poonam, jurors were told.  

She also sent scores of hate-filled texts throughout the day and night, telling Kuntal she was a 'f***** up brain girl' and that she was  'ashamed' of her daughter. 

Defence counsel Peter Rowlands told the court: 'Her state of mind at the time was one of psychological disturbance. The defendant over a period of two years found herself in a pressure cooker of emotion.

'She looked to the one person, her mother, who might have shored up her increasing emotional distress and you may recall what she got instead.' 

The court heard that, after this treatment, Kuntal snapped and used the secretive 'dark web' to buy the toxin.

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A jury at Southwark Crown Court convicted Kuntal of acquiring the deadly poison, but acquitted her of attempted murder after deliberating for just three hours

She used £950 in Bitcoins from a site called Black Market Reloaded. The poison was then sent by dealer Jesse Korff, who dubbed himself 'Snowman840', disguised in a red scented candle.

She duped her close friend Julie Wong into having the package containing the deadly poison delivered to her home in Streatham, south London by saying Mr Kakad was sending her a gift. 

Kuntal dubbed the dealer 'Heisenberg' after the teacher turned chemist in the American TV series.

In emails Korff boasted of a plan to manufacture methamphetamine, the same substance perfected by Walter White and Jessie Pinkman in Breaking Bad.

But the FBI was investigating Korff. When he was arrested, the officers passed on information about Kuntal to the Metropolitan Police.

Kuntal was arrested on January 26 this year after officers swooped at the £450,000 home she shared with her family.  

Detectives and specialist officers trained in dealing with biological and nuclear substances searched Kuntal's home in Stratford, on January 26.

They had earlier raided Ms Wong's home and stormed the home of Ms Wong's neighbour James Sutcliffe - the son of Foreign Office diplomat Nicholas Sutcliffe - after he innocently took delivery of the package.

Meena did not cooperate with investigators and did not appear as a prosecution witness.

But the court heard she reconciled with her daughter during tearful telephone calls to prison where she confessed that she was the only person to blame.