A FORMER property surveyor for Northampton Borough Council has told a court he set up a cannabis factory in his loft to help alleviate the pain of kidney stones.
Robin Eddy, aged 34, of Westfield Road, Duston, spent £2,000 of his £5,000 redundancy payout from the council on equipping his loft to grow cannabis plants in.
Eddy told Northampton Crown Court how he began smoking £200 of cannabis a week due to the pain of kidney stones, which also meant he was signed off work.
When he was made redundant in February last year, he became a double glazing salesman and was able to spend £2,000 of his pay-out on equipment to insulate his attic and set-up the hydroponic factory.
He was busted in July last year after driving away from officers who questioned him while parked in a cul-de-sac. The car was tracked to his house, when the drugs den was foiled.
On Friday, he was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison for dangerous driving and 12 weeks for cannabis cultivation, both suspended for two years.
He was also given a 24-month supervision order, with a drugs rehabilitation order for four months, 150 hours of unpaid work and he was disqualified from driving for 12 months.