A South Yorkshire drug offender caught with cannabis plants has narrowly been spared jail

Police raided the home of Kirk Bedworth, aged 32, of Sheridan Drive, East Dene, Rotherham, and found 210 grammes of cannabis and eight cannabis plants at the property.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, The Recorder of Sheffield, told a recent Sheffield Crown Court hearing: “There was a raid at the property on June 8, 2019, in Rotherham, and eight cannabis plants were found.”

Police also discovered 210 grammes of cannabis and the plants could have yielded 420 grammes of cannabis, according to Judge Richardson.

Bedworth stated the drugs were for his own benefit but he accepted that on occasion he would sell drugs on.

The defendant, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing the class B drug cannabis, and to possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and to being concerned with the supply of cannabis.

Judge Richardson told Bedworth: “Had you fought this through it would have been a short prison sentence as sure as night follows day but you had the good sense to plead guilty.”

Bedworth was sentenced on October 30 to a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

Judge Richardson told Bedworth that a young man like him with a future should not have been taking cannabis.

He added: “It’s a real shame someone like you should lose your good character in this way.”

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