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A plumber turned his loft into a cannabis factory to pay off debts after he lost all his money in an ill-judged venture into the solar panel business.
Mark Davey had already made more than £7,000 from the hydroponic system in his home in Honiton and hoped to make another £5,000 every few months from his crop.
He started growing drugs and selling them to friends after sinking his savings into a solar panel business just before the Government reduced its subsidy for the industry.
Davey’s problems got worse when he injured his arm while fitting a panel on a roof and suffered a hairline fracture which was not diagnosed and treated for almost two years.
He started taking cannabis to cope with the pain and moved on to setting up his own growing room in his attic, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Davey, aged 38, of Hill Crescent, Honiton, admitted producing cannabis and possessing cocaine.
He was jailed for eight months, suspended for a year and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work by Judge Erik Salomonsen.
The judge told him:”Following the failure of your business, rather than do what most people do and find another job, you found another source of income by producing cannabis.
“You say you were selling cannabis for £120 a ounce to friends. You must have had a lot of friends in Honiton. When asked if you were aware it was illegal you said it was a stupid thing to do. That is certainly the case.”
Miss Bathsheba Cassel, prosecuting, said police raided Davey’s home in December last year and found 26 mature plants growing in a sophisticated hydroponic system with lights and ventilation plus 44 seedlings.
They also found £400 worth of cocaine and a £495 bundle of banknotes and Davey told officers he hoped to make £4,000 to £5,000 from selling his crop and had made £7,000 to £8,000 from selling previous harvests to a wide circle of friends.
Miss Emily Cook, defending, said it was social supply rather than large scale dealing and he had started growing cannabis because of financial problems.
She said:”He was a plumber who in 2012 started a solar panel business and invested a significant quantity of money into it shortly before the Government reduced the grant, with the result that he lost over £100,000 in business.
“He also went through a marriage breakdown and injured his shoulder when he was on a roof and hit by a panel he was fitting. The full extent of the injury was not diagnosed at the time.
“He started using cannabis when he was seeking to avoid becoming addicted to pain killers. He suffered the destruction of his business which led to significant debts.”
Miss Cook said Davey deserved credit for his exceptional honesty to the police and now shares parenting duties for his three children, who would suffer if he went straight to jail.
She said he is a charity fund raiser who has organised a Three Peaks Challenge for a cancer charity and that he has now re-started his plumbing business and taken on an apprentice.
Honiton plumber turned to cannabis growing to pay off solar panel business debts
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