A Patchway man who allowed his garage to be turned into a makeshift cannabis factory has been jailed for 15 months at Bristol Crown Court, reports the Evening Post.
Paul Townsend, 36, of Kestrel Close, had been arrested after his garage caught fire in September last year.
Firefighters attending the blaze alerted the police and Townsend subsequently admitted growing 34 plants on behalf of a friend, who had promised to pay him £10,000 from the sale of the drugs.
Townsend pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and one count of abstracting electricity.
The court was told that Townsend had run up debts of £20,000 after losing his job in 2010.
Judge William Hart said:
“This was a sophisticated set up and clearly a commercial enterprise and an immediate prison sentence is unavoidable.”
The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.
Read more: Father let his garage be used as cannabis factory
