A MAN who created ‘a substantial cannabis farm’ in his attic has been jailed for 36 weeks.

During a police raid on September 9, 2011, officers found 34 mature plants in Nigel Sullivan’s home, in Chapel Street, Oswaldtwistle.

Burnley Crown Court heard that lights, transformers, and fans, were found, and that the attic space had been lined.

Sullivan was also charged with abstracting electricity worth around £250 as he had bypassed his meter to provide power.

The prosecution said the plants were “flourishing”, and they had a potential yield of 1.7 kilograms of “skunk”-type cannabis.

Sullivan made a full admission when arrested. He told officers it was his first crop, that he had cultivated the plants from cuttings, and that he was not expecting them to do as well as they did.

He said at the time he was a cannabis user, and intended to use the drugs for personal use, and to distribute to a wide circle of friends.

The court was told Sullivan, step-father to an eight-year-old boy, was in full-time skilled employment, earning more than £1,500 a month and travelling the country as a net-work engineer.

Testimonials were presented to the court stating he was of positive good character, with no previous convictions.

Imposing a prison term of 36 weeks, His Honour Judge Graham Knowles QC said the plants represented ‘a very, very substantial quantity indeed’.

He said: “The smoking, or growing, of cannabis is seen by some as barely criminal at all. But that is not the view of the courts.”