A MAN who grew cannabis to relieve long-term pain he suffers following a car accident has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Jason Peter Groves grew the plants for his personal use in order to self-medicate injuries sustained in an accident in 1996.

The injuries he sustained left him needing a new hip and knee.

But doctors have told the 37-year-old he is too young for the procedure as the replacement joints only have a lifespan of 15 years.

Yesterday, a court heard that Groves, of Victoria Cottages, Howden-le-Wear, in County Durham, was arrested following a police raid in July.

Bill Brabham, prosecuting, said a sophisticated cultivation system was discovered during a drugs search at a house in Cedar Crescent, Low Willington, County Durham, on July 24.

A bedroom had been converted with blacked out windows, heaters and lamps to grow cannabis and 14 mature plants were seized.

Groves' partner, Janine Midgley, was found trying to flush plants down the toilet.

When he arrived at the house he said the operation was his and had nothing to do with Miss Midgley.

Mr Brabham said: "This was a sophisticated, but not commercial scale, operation.

"Janine Midgley played no part in that. Living there though, she was aware."

Groves had pleaded guilty to production of the class C drug at a hearing at Bishop Auckland earlier this month.

Rory Todd, mitigating, said: "The medication he was prescribed gave him side-effects, so when someone suggested cannabis, he tried it and found it did help.

"His decision to grow plants himself was to avoid coming into contact with others and the expense. He knew it was illegal and accepts what he did.

"He did it because he was in considerable pain and, hearing he would not get a new hip or knee yet, there was no light at the end of the tunnel in the short- term."

District Judge Michael Wood, sitting at Newton Aycliffe, sentenced Groves to eight weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months with supervision.

He also ordered Groves to pay £55 legal costs and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs-related items police seized.