A man who cultivated over four kilos of cannabis at a property in Harrogate has been spared jail.

Alexander Banner, 39, was arrested after police raided a property in Mount Street, off Leeds Road.

York Crown Court heard that Banner had 4.3kg of harvested, dried and packed cannabis “ready to go”.

Prosecutor Oliver Norman said that police raided the property on March 21 and found a “significant” cannabis crop.

The property was rented by a woman who was not connected to the crop.

Police raid

When officers made their presence known at the front door, there was no reply, but when they peered through the letterbox, they saw Banner stood on the stairs.

They forced their way in and found an “extensive cultivation operation”, with cannabis plants at various stages of growth. Banner was the only person inside the property.

Police seized 37 growing saplings, 11 mature, drying plants and just over 4.3kg of dried cannabis.

They also seized £4,830 cash found in a slow cooker and further cash found in a utility cupboard, along with cannabis grinders and weighing scales.

Mr Norman said the total value of all the plants seized was between £17,750 and £42,060, including the harvested plants worth between £14,640 and £26,520.

The potential yield of the 37 growing saplings was between £3,110 and £15,540.

Mr Norman said that Banner had grown “significant quantities (of cannabis) for commercial use”.

Banner, of Freesia Close, Beckwithshaw, was arrested and charged with cannabis production. He admitted the offence and appeared for sentence today (June 27).

Record of offences

The court was told he had 10 previous convictions for 23 offences including drug matters such as possessing cannabis and Class C drugs.

Defence barrister Matthew Moore-Taylor said there was no hydroponic set-up at the property in Harrogate, which he described as relatively unsophisticated.

He said that since his arrest, Banner had volunteered at a local gym and had severed all ties with criminal associates. He had been abstinent from cannabis for six weeks, having smoked the drug since he was 13 years of age.

He said that at the height of his habit, Banner was smoking 9g of cannabis a day.

Mr Moore-Taylor said that Banner had been “vulnerable to malign influences” after losing his job and accommodation due to mental-health problems linked to personal tragedies and bereavement.

Recorder Craig Hassall KC said there was a “significant amount” of cannabis found in the property “ready for distribution” on a commercial scale.

Mitigation

He added, however, that there was strong personal mitigation in Banner’s favour, including “glowing” character references.

He said there was “evidence of positive character and/or exemplary conduct” in Banner’s case and he accepted that the Harrogate man was remorseful. He also noted that Banner, a father-of-two, had taken steps to beat his drug addiction.

Mr Hassall said he had also considered Banner’s “extremely difficult and deprived childhood and your personal circumstances since then”, and the impact on others dependent on him if he were jailed.

He said that due to the “very significant mitigation”, he could suspend the inevitable jail sentence.

Banner received a 22-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months. During that time, he will have to complete a 12-month drug-rehabilitation programme, a year-long alcohol-treatment course and up to 20 rehabilitation-activity days.

Confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act were timetabled for August this year.