A cannabis addict who decided to grow his own supply in a bedroom has been jailed for nine months.

Stephen Olliman, who has been living at St Paul’s Hostel, Worcester, looked up how to grow the cannabis on websites, Gareth Walters, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court.

He spent about £150 on parts of the ‘hydroponic’ (indoor growing) equipment and found the rest he needed in bins.

He pleaded guilty to growing 41 plants in a bedroom at a flat he rented in Meadow Street Court, Malvern, between September and October last year.

He was paying £50 a fortnight for the heating and lighting he needed and If the crop had been successful with the minimum yield of one ounce per plant it would have been worth about £6,500.

Jason Patel, defending, said the 26-year-old had been addicted to cannabis for about 10 years and would spend £70 a week on the drug. He decided to grow his own crop and had intended most of it for his own personal use, though he admitted he would probably have sold some to friends.

“It was a foolish attempt to grow his own supply,” Mr Patel told the court.

Olliman, he said, had been working as a volunteer in the kitchens at St Paul’s and with the help of drugs counselling had now cut down to just occasional cannabis use.

Judge John Cavell said that the hydroponic equipment had been set up with “an element of professionalism” and could have produced three crops a year.