'Men with machetes' try to burst into South Yorkshire cannabis farm

A Rotherham man who smokes 30 joints a day was caught in charge of a cannabis farm when men with machetes tried to break in and steal his crop, a court heard.
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Police were called to Warren Barney's home on Barnsley Road, Goldthorpe, at 3.40am, on March 21, 2018, following reports of the attack, prosecutor Beverley Wright said.

Officers went to Barney's door and found he was "perfectly fine," but he became less co-operative when they wanted to come inside. Barney locked the door, and only let them in when the officers threatened to break it down.

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He showed them into a bedroom containing 24 cannabis plants and 18 lights. The plants were ready to be harvested in three to five weeks, with a yield of 2.5 kgs, worth £25,200 if sold in one gram deals.

Men with machetes tried to break into Warren Barney's cannabis farm in Rotherham.Men with machetes tried to break into Warren Barney's cannabis farm in Rotherham.
Men with machetes tried to break into Warren Barney's cannabis farm in Rotherham.

In police interview he said it was for his own personal use and he smoked around 30 joints per day. He denied growing it to sell. He said he had been smoking since he was aged 16, and bought the equipment off Facebook and at car boot sales for £800 from his sickness benefit.

He has four previous convictions and received a suspended sentence for growing cannabis in 2012.

Vanessa Saxton mitigating, said his drug misuse is an "entrenched position" but he was lightly convicted and “would benefit from help to move away from that life-style.”

She urged the judge to suspend a sentence so he could do some "difficult rehabilitation work.”

Recorder Matthew Happold sentenced him to nine months in prison.