A WOMAN had 30 cannabis plants growing in the cellar of her rented Bacup home, a court was told.

Burnley magistrates heard how Yvonne Hogan, 54, who used the drug for pain relief, was caught when police turned up at the house with a drugs warrant for somebody else.

The man, who officers believed lived there, had left two days before and Hogan had moved in.

She co-operated with police and told them there were cannabis plants in the cellar.

The defendant told officers they were in a tent which was there because of the previous tenant, but the four-inch plants were actually hers.

Prosecutor Charlotte Crane said Hogan was aware someone was coming to collect the tent and, in the meantime, had put her own plants in.

She said: “The plants were in the early stages of development and the maj-ority would not have survived.”

The defendant, of Rochdale Road, Bacup, admitted possessing cannabis, on August 28.

An allegation of producing the drug was withdrawn.

She was given a 12-month condi-tional discharge, and must pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Richard Taylor, for Hogan, said she was in constant pain due to arthritis in multiple joints and curvature of the spine.

She had used cannabis to alleviate pain for a number of years.

The solicitor continued: “When she moved in, she was told the cannabis was in the cellar and if she left it there, her first month’s rent would be taken care of.

“For somebody on employment and support allowance, that was tempting.”