Father-and-son who set up cannabis growing operation are spared from jail

Sheffield Crown Court heard on July 15 how William Hooley, aged 71, and his son Mark Hooley, aged 40, both of Moorland Terrace, Cudworth, Barnsley, had set-up a cannabis operation between their two properties.

Fatima Zafar, prosecuting, said police raided their homes and found a false wall in William Hooley’s garage behind which were six cannabis plants, growing equipment and a check-list.

Miss Zafar added officers also found a cannabis plantation in Mark Hooley’s garage with about 16 plants with growing equipment.

She said the overall operation had a potential value of thousands of pounds.

Judge Rachael Harrison warned the defendants: “If you breach the orders I am making, prison will be the only option.”

Mark Hooley, who has a previous conviction for cultivating cannabis, and his father William Hooley pleaded guilty to producing cannabis after the raid on February 6, 2020.

Stephen Littlewood, defending, confirmed there was no suggestion the father-and-son were dealing cannabis.

Mr Littlewood added Mark Hooley had been using cannabis to ease pain problems but he has since sought prescribed medication.

Judge Harrison sentenced William Hooley to a 12-month community order with a two-month curfew, and she sentenced Mark Hooley to a 12-month community order with a three-month curfew, a rehabilitation requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.

She told both defendants: “If you come back because you breach this order or commit any further offence, you will go to prison.”