£17,000 worth of cannabis found in Telford bedroom

Father-of-two Michael Phillips told police the drugs were for his own personal use, Telford Magistrates Court was told.

Phillips, of Stonedale, Sutton Hill, yesterday pleaded guilty to growing cannabis and possession of the Class B drug.

He grew the drugs at his home and when police visited the property in April this year they found the plants and a small plastic bag containing four grams of cannabis.

Ms Abigail Hall, prosecuting, said the plants had a street value of up to £17,000.

She said: "However, the police accepted that Phillips operation was only small-scale and he was only growing the drugs for his own use.

"The defendant said he smoked cannabis daily, probably two to three spliffs, but never smoked them in front of his children."

Phillips, 31, was fined £110 for cannabis production, with all the plants and production equipment forfeit. He received no penalty for the possession charge. He also faced prosecution costs of £85, victim surcharge of £20 and court costs of £180.

Ms Jenni Hancocks, for Phillips, said he lived with his partner and their two young children and had since cut down his cannabis use as he is now scared about the potential consequences.

She said: "Because of his arrest, social services have had to be involved with the family and my client hates this.

"This is the first time he has grown any plants and he has never had any intention to supply. The estimate of the potential cannabis yield from those plants is between 28 and 84 grams – the street value of £17,000 would only equate to the higher amount."