GROWING cannabis in a garden shed has led to an expensive court appearance for a self-employed mechanic.

When police searched 33-year-old Paul Glen’s Darlington home on February 15 they found four cannabis plants growing in his shed.

They also found seven ounces of the drug in an understairs cupboard, Darlington Magistrates Court heard today (Tuesday, March 4).

Glen, of Brignall Moor Crescent, Darlington, admitted production and possession of a Class B drug and the court heard that he was a regular cannabis user who decided to grow his own rather than buy from dealers.

Magistrates told him to pay a total of £610 in court fines, costs and charges and ordered the destruction of the drugs.