A father who was renting one of his houses out to a friend and helping him to grow more than £50,000 worth of cannabis has been told to ‘grow up’.

Bradley Herring, 37, who goes by the name Pablo, was letting out his home in Albion Street, Burnley to his friend, Taylor Bell, who was jailed earlier this month for three years for his involvement.

Beth Pilling, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court police searched the Burnley home on August 3, and found two bedrooms and the cellar set up as ‘sophisticated’ cannabis grows, with 128 plants.

There was 51kg of cannabis in total, worth around £51,000 at street value, while officers found another 181g of the class B drug, worth a further £905.

Officers also found a machete and evidence of bypassed electricity.

Bell was arrested by police and some weeks later Herring went to the police station but denied any knowledge of the drugs being grown in his home.

When officers searched Bell’s phone, they found messages to a ‘Pablo’, which was tracked as being Herring’s number.

The messages included photos of the cannabis grows sent by Bell, with Herring replying ‘sweet’, while agreeing with Bell that the cannabis farm was their ‘bread and butter’.

The council had previously visited the home in July after they thought the occupants were growing cannabis, however, when Bell answered the door, he told them he was decorating.

In mitigation, Katherine Pierpoint said that Herring, who runs a carpet business, was already a father, with another child on the way.

She added Herring ‘stupidly got involved' in the cannabis production and as a result of that, he will miss the birth of his child.

Ms Pierpoint said: “He stupidly got involved in the cannabis grow.

“He knows it’s a result of his behaviour that he is not there for his partner, and he will miss the birth and first few months of his child’s life.

“He knows he needs to put this type of behaviour behind himself. He needs to get on and find himself as a supportive partner and father.”

Sentencing, Judge Darren Preston jailed Herring, of Cedar Road, Partington, Greater Manchester, who pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis and breach of a suspended sentence, for three years, telling him to ‘grow up’.

He said: “You have a child on the way, you need to start taking some responsibility - stop being so childish and selfish.

“Grow up and look after your partner who works hard and your step child, your children and your child that is on the way who will be born without you.

“That is your fault.”