Man grew cannabis

A NEWHAVEN grandfather grew cannabis worth thousands of pounds in his back garden, a court heard.

Martin Ralston, 54, was arrested for the possession and cultivation of herbal cannabis. He pleaded guilty to both charges at Lewes Magistrate Court.

During an early morning dawn raid on his Powell Gardens home, on September 13, police found large amounts of the drug and two greenhouses used to grow the plants.

Andrew Holt, defending, told magistrates on Thursday last week that police were tipped off about Ralston's set-up.

He said: 'Upon entering the premises at 7.10am they could smell a very strong aroma and cannabis plants and leaves could be seen in the living room. The premises were searched and the defendant was arrested.'

Mr Holt added: 'Items were found. These included a substantial amount of cannabis leaves found drying in trays and boxes.'

Also discovered were fully grown plants, bags of seeds, a book on cultivating cannabis and cash. In the garden were two greenhouses used to grow the drug.

'Police described the first cannabis plant as 7ft in height,' said Mr Holt.

When interviewed Ralston told police he had always grown cannabis and would never stop.

Officers seized 872 grams of dried cannabis leaves with a street value of 1,750 and 3.7 kilos of cannabis plants.

Paul Casey, defending, said his client, who was unable to work after suffering back injuries in a serious car accident seven years ago, grew the cannabis for his own use. 'It was not his intention to make any money out of this material. He has used cannabis over a long period of time it is his only luxury.'