An illegal immigrant who claimed he was 'nothing more than a gardener' has been jailed over his part in the cultivation of more than 100 cannabis plants.

Preng Prenga was caught by police running away from a property in Blackburn during the discovery of a huge cannabis farm with an estimated street value of £44,800.

Preston Crown Court heard that members of the public had tipped off police after they'd detected a strong smell of cannabis coming from a house on Whitebirk Drive.

Officers attended on October 5 and found a sophisticated set-up spread throughout the whole house, with plants growing in the living room and three upstairs bedrooms.

Prosecuting, Niamh Ingham said: "The kitchen was the living area, and the bathroom housed the irrigation system.

"The electricity had also been bypassed.

"The yield estimate was 4.48kg of cannabis from 112 plants close to being harvested, with a potential street value of £44,800.

"In his interview, the defendant said he did not know who owned the house or who was responsible for the cannabis.

"He also said he hadn't been responsible for bypassing the electricity but was being paid £500 per week to sit in the house."

Prenga, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis at an earlier hearing, in which his defence solicitor argued that he had played a lesser role in the operation, claiming he was 'just watering the plants and was nothing more than a gardener'.

The 50-year-old Albanian had arrived in the UK in a lorry five years ago and according to his defence barrister, Abiud Kaihiva, is of previous good character and had found himself in this situation because of Covid.

Recorder Paul Taylor said: "There were 112 plants, the yield of which was almost 4.5kg.

"You played a significant role in the growing of cannabis because your motivation was money.

"You were promised £500 a week and it is clear you must have had some awareness and understanding of the scale of the operation because of the number of plants you were cultivating and because there was a sophisticated system being used.

"I accept that you are remorseful but the final factor of this case is that you should not even have been here to take any part in a cannabis growing business - you entered this country illegally and while here you've committed serious criminal conduct.

"In the time you were working here you were doing so illegally - but that is for another body to consider."

Prenga was sentenced to two years in jail.