A MAN who grew 15 cannabis plants at his home was yesterday warned he could face jail.

Jamie Thompson, 33, bought the infant plants from a drinking mate for £340, but their estimated street value when police found them at his home in Bramall Lane, Darlington, was about £940.

South Durham magistrates sitting at Darlington Magistrates' Court heard how unemployed Thompson had used cannabis for 13 years, and had cultivated the plants for personal use to avoid having to continue to buy the drug.

Stephen Andrews, mitigating, said Thompson, who pleaded guilty to unlawfully cultivating a cannabis plant, had used the drug for medical reasons, including for pain relief and to help him sleep.

Mr Andrews said: "There is nothing here to suggest this was a large scale operation, or that he was moving into supplying for financial gain.

"This was a small operation, which was intended purely and simply for personal use by a man who cannot afford to pay the price on the streets."

Magistrates told Thompson they could not rule out custody.

He will be sentenced on June 28 at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court.