A “VULNERABLE” man has been ordered to destroy the 17 cannabis plants growing in his attic, which he was using for “pain relief” following a serious head injury.

Andrew O’Callaghan admitted to charges of producing the controlled class B drug in tents in his home when appearing at Worcester Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that the 54-year-old had suffered a serious head injury in 2000 and suffers from a number of health problems, some due to the accident.

Kerri Lovegrove, prosecuting, said O’Callaghan “panicked when he knew the police were coming” and attempted to hide the plants, resulting in officers finding some scattered across the floor.

The court heard the defendant suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Agoraphobia.

The prosecutor said, following reports of a house fire on January 25, police attended the defendant’s house in Mayfield Road, Worcester, and conducted a search.

Officers found the cannabis plants in his attic, the majority of which were in two tents, while electrical items used for the production of the drug were also found.

Mrs Lovegrove said O’Callaghan accepted that the plants were his, but said he was “growing them for medicinal purposes” and not for sale to others.

She said O’Callaghan admitted to smoking the cannabis two or three times a day, as well as using the drug to make cakes, watering the plants every few days.

The court heard that he had a total of seven convictions for a total of 16 offences, with his last drug offence being in 1996.

Barry Newton, defending, gave a letter to magistrates from O’Callaghan’s GP, written in 2016, which he said expressed the doctor’s shock that the defendant was not receiving Employment and Support Allowance.

The solicitor described his client as “very vulnerable” but that prior to his injury had been “living a full and productive life”, working as a carpenter and tutor.

“Since he’s had his injury he has not been able to work at all, and his world has got smaller and smaller,” said the solicitor. “He regards his own home as his sanctuary.”

The defendant is now in receipt of ESA and DLA, and was ordered to pay a total of £325 in fines and prosecution costs.