Police raided Sheffield home and found cannabis plants valued at thousands of pounds

Officers raided the home of Ainsley Mitchell, aged 29, of Handsworth Avenue, Handsworth, Sheffield, and found 17 cannabis plants valued at between £11,520 and £17,900, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing.

Prosecuting barrister Lauren Hemsley told the hearing on December 6 said that officers executed a search warrant at the three-bedroom property and because no one was at home they had to force entry through a PVC door that had been reinforced with wood.

The judge – Recorder Alex Menary – said: “In April, this year, police went to your property and found cannabis upstairs and downstairs.”

Ms Hemsley added that there was a cannabis grow in one bedroom with five plants and there was another cannabis grow in the loft with 12 plants both with the necessary equipment.

Mitchell confirmed the property was his address and that he was the occupant at the premises, according to Ms Hemsley.

She also said that a police drug expert and a forensic scientist examined a sample of the plants and the drugs expert valued the potential yield from the plants at between £11,520 and £17,900 if sold as street deals.

Rebecca Tanner, defending, said: “This badly thought out exercise was because of his financial difficulties.”

Mitchel, who has two previous convictions for two offences, pleaded guilty to producing class B drug cannabis after the raid on April 6.

Recorder Menary said: “This court can afford Mr Mitchell another opportunity to curb his offending behaviour, and work towards being offence-free in the future.”

He told Mitchell: “It is your guilty plea at the earliest opportunity that has saved you from going to prison.”

Recorder Menary added: “You have had the good sense to plead guilty at the lower court and I can give you full credit for that and that permits me to withdraw what could have been an immediate custodial sentence.”

Recorder Menary sentenced Mitchell to 16 months of custody suspended for 18 months with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work.