POLICE discovered a cannabis farm inside a wardrobe during a raid on a house in Tonge Moor, a court heard.

Darren Gregory was growing 13 plants, each three-feet high, inside the wardrobe, which was rigged up with a sodium light and irrigation system. Police also found eight more six-inch high cannabis plants in a bedside cabinet.

Gregory, aged 32, of Union Road, appeared at Bolton Magistrates Court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and supplying it.

Magistrates heard how heroin addict Gregory was trying to wean himself off hard drugs by using cannabis and decided the cannabis he could buy on the streets was of an inferior quality.

“It wasn’t up to scratch and he decided to grow his own,” said Samantha Cole, prosecuting.

James Towey, defending, told the court that Gregory had no intention of selling the drug, but had given some to housemate Thomas Dodds, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, to ease his pain.

He said: “This was not a Colombian drug style operation.”

Magistrates sentenced Gregory to a 12-month community order with supervision and ordered him to do 150 hours unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £43 prosecution costs.