Drugs found at house

A WOMAN has been given a suspended sentence after police discovered cannabis plants growing in two bedrooms she had sublet.

Leeds Crown Court heard officers went to the address in Sheepridge Road, Sheepridge, on August 3 last year after a report that cannabis was being produced inside.

Shelaine Charles was present and said later she had sublet the two upstairs bedrooms to a man called Sebastian in return for £400 a month. The bedrooms were equipped with ventilation ducting, fans and 15 highintensity heating units suspended over 39 plants.

Emma Downing, prosecuting, said the plants were still some time away from full maturity but would have provided up to 3.51 kilograms, worth around £11,000.

The court heard from a probation officer that Charles was a vulnerable person with no previous convictions who had both personal and financial difficulties. She had not been able to afford the rent after a friend left and made the decision to sublet the bedrooms.

Charles, 27, admitted producing cannabis and was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 20 rehabilitation activity days.

Judge Tom Bayliss QC told her. “I am quite sure you cannot have been the prime mover in all of this because of your vulnerability. You have been put upon.”