A CARPENTER who grew cannabis in his loft was caught red-handed after an anonymous tip-off.

Officers raided the house of Marvin Rose, in Englefield Way, Popley, Basingstoke, on June 21 last year, after receiving information from the Crimestoppers charity.

The police found 24 cannabis plants in the attic of the 44-year-old’s house, with a potential street value of between £5,600 and £11,200, as well as ducts and hydroponic equipment.

Nicholas Robinson, prosecuting, said Rose denied knowledge of the plants in interview, saying that a man called Mr Stone, from Reading, also had access to the flat.

Mr Robinson added: “But by the time of the trial, he accepted full responsibility for the factory, and a basis of plea was put forward.”

The court heard that Rose received a community order for growing cannabis in 2005, after the police found about 30 plants at his then address in Coppice Mews, Winklebury.

Adrienne Knight, defending, said that Rose had turned to smoking cannabis again after the death of his brother from cancer in 2012.

She said: “He’s made it quite clear he was going to grow it for himself. Mr Stone did not exist. It was just him on his own, with nobody above or below him.”

Recorder Simon Foster accepted that Rose, who pleaded guilty to production of cannabis, was not growing it to sell to other people.

He added: “All the same, you must accept it is a serious matter. In the end, you are cultivating a Class B drug and whatever anyone might say, it’s against the law and is deemed by Parliament to be a dangerous substance.”

Rose received a 12-month community order, with 200 hours’ unpaid work and was ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge.