POLICE found up to £7,000 worth of cannabis plants when they raided the home of a man described in court as "an enthusiastic amateur".

Andrew Jeffcoat was spared prison after a judge at Teesside Crown Court heard the 31-year-old addict planned to smoke all the "weed" himself.

Jeffcoat, from Easington, near Saltburn, admitted cultivating cannabis plants when he appeared before magistrates last month.

He claimed he was not a commercial dealer, despite the sophisticated set-up at his home and the discovery of 26 plants in various stages of growth.

Judge Peter Armstrong accepted Jeffcoat did not make money from the enterprise and imposed a suspended prison sentence.

Jeffcoat, of Twizziegill View, was ordered to undergo 12 months of probation supervision and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. A six-month prison sentence was suspended for a year by Judge Armstrong because Jeffcoat was of previous good character and had a job.

Judge Armstrong told him: "You have been a heavy cannabis user for a long time and it is time you got over that.

"Cultivating for your own use is a serious matter, not just for the fact that drugs are being produced but because they are capable of ending up being distributed even if that was not your intention.

"As a deterrent to you and anyone else who thinks it is a good idea to grow their own cannabis, there has to be a custodial sentence.

"But your previous good character and current position of being in good work stand you in good stead along with your guilty plea."

Tom Mitchell, mitigating, described Jeffcoat as "an enthusiastic amateur", but accepted: "Even for personal use, it is a lot of cannabis."

He added: "The defendant maintains it was entirely for him, so the net commercial value is nil.