A ‘curious’ cannabis smoker who created his own drugs farm ended up growing £25,000 worth of the plants.

Self-employed businessman Benjamin Short, 40, started growing his own crop after becoming ‘wary’ of local drug dealers but said he had no idea how much would come from the crop, a court heard.

When police raided his six-bedroom house on Chester Road, Macclesfield, they found 44 plants in a bedroom.

Expert analysis found the hoard had a potential street value of more than £25,000, the hearing was told.

At a trial at Chester Crown Court, Short admitted the production of cannabis but on the basis that he was stockpiling the cannabis for personal use and wasn’t a drug dealer.

The recorder for Chester Mark Ainsworth gave short a 12 month community order, 200 hours unpaid work and a two month curfew.

Sentencing, the recorder for Chester Mark Ainsworth, said: “The quantity found at your house led to a irresistible conclusion that you were involved in the commercial supply.

“But I accept that you cultivated it for personal use. You were wary of dealers and curious of the process.

“The amount you produced would have lasted several years. You may have been surprised at how successful you were at this.”

Claire Jones, prosecuting said: “Officers found three hydroponic ‘grow’ tents containing 44 plants at different stage of growth. Eighteen of them were weeks from yielding 900g of cannabis worth £12,860 in street value. The follow-on crop had a similar potential.

“The quantity has potential for onward distribution.

“Our expert says for it to have been grown for personal use illustrates a profound level of consumption.”

Short, a dad of one, told the court he had smoked cannabis since he was 15 and got through an ounce every month, spending up to £100 per month.

He said: “I had always been curious about the production process.

“I didn’t want to have to go to find drugs from dealers.

“I stupidly saw it as a hobby. I didn’t know how much would come from the crop. I hadn’t worked it out how long it would take to smoke. I had no intention of selling it.”

Adrian Farrow, defending, said the police found nothing else at the house to suggest Short was a dealer.