A MAN who smoked cannabis to tackle nausea and stress was caught with a large crop of the drug in his loft.

Anthony Valliere, 31, had 29 plants and a sophisticated growing operation, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

A judge heard he never supplied the drug to anyone else.

Valliere, of Edgcumbe Terrace, Bere Alston, admitted production of a Class B drug on December 6 last year.

Francesca Whebell, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police found 29 plants in the loft of his home. She said the growth was ‘sophisticated’ with fertiliser and specialist equipment.

The court heard the crop was his second growth and the drugs were for his personal use.

Geoff Parlby, for Valliere, said his client had been a long-term cannabis smoker, using the drug to combat nausea and stress.

He added that the defendant was training to be a mechanical engineer and his partner was expecting their first child.

The defendant had been to see his GP and was going to see a counselling service.

Recorder Phillip Mott handed Valliere a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, with 80 hours of unpaid work and ten days of probation supervision.

He must pay £500 prosecution costs.