Dope busted

A man producing up to £12,000 worth of cannabis in his home was busted after a heated lamp he used to grow the drug fell over and set fire to his flat.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called to Thomas Watson’s topfloor flat on Elba Street, Ayr, at 9pm on January 26 last year after a downstairs neighbour reported smelling smoke.

Watson refused entry to firefighters when they requested to check his flat over, claiming a small cooker fire was the reason for the smoke, which he had extinguished.

The 59-year-old stated that he did not need assistance but firefighters stressed they needed to inspect the property.

After entering the home,

SFRS officers discovered cannabis plants and equipment used with the production of the Clas-B drug. Watson was later questioned by the police where he accepted that a cannabis growing light fell over and set fire to the flat.

The plants were said to be worth between £200 and £400 each, with a total valuation given as between £6000 and £12,000.

The total damage to the property was estimated at £740. Watson pleaded guilty at Ayr Sheriff Court to producing cannabis and to culpably and recklessly leaving a heated lamp switched on and unattended, causing a fire within a topfloor flat Sentencing for Watson was deferred until a later date for the court to obtain social work reports and a restriction of liberty order.