Leeds dad-of-six jailed for growing £28,000 of cannabis at house in Moortown

A court heard how police were alerted after the discovery and Daniel Firth was arrested when he turned up at the property in Moortown while officers were there, on December 26, 2016. Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, said 32 plants were in the house and were capable of producing over 3kgs of cannabis with a street value of £28,000.

Police seize dangerously driven cars in Armley stingMr Ahmed said the electricity supply to the property had also been bypassed.

Investigations revealed Firth, 43, had illegally obtained electricity worth £2,906 which he had not paid for.

The prosecutor said: “It would have been a large scale enterprise had it come to fruition.”

The court heard there was evidence that Firth had also harvested a previous cannabis crop in the property.

Firth, of Alderton Crescent, Moortown, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and abstracting electricity.

Mark Foley, mitigating, said Firth was a father of six and his family would suffer if he was sent immediately to prison.

He said his partner would not be able to carry on work if he was jailed.

Mr Foley said the fire at the house was not linked to the cannabis grow and had started in a different bedroom from where the plants were being kept.

Mr Foley said Firth had attempted to grow a cannabis crop on a previous occasion but it grew mouldy. He added: “This is the first time he has been in this kind of trouble before. It was an ambitious and foolish act.”

Firth was jailed for eight months.

Judge Christopher Batty said: “This was a deliberate, flagrant breach of the law, particularly when the electricity system was bypassed.

“Cannabis can cause very significant mental health issues.”