A GRANDFATHER who was forced to give up work by a leg injury turned to cannabis growing to cope with the pain. 

David Bradfield, aged 65, got fed up with buying the drug from street dealers and turned two bedrooms in his home in Bridgwater into growing areas. 

He allowed two friends to set up the hydroponic operation where there were 52 plants with a potential yield worth £10,000 to £30,000. 

Bradfield's plan was to use some of the cannabis for his own pain relief and give the rest to the other two, who told him they wanted it for personal use rather than sale. 

Bradfield, of King George Avenue, Bridgwater, admitted production and possession of cannabis and abstracting electricity and was jailed for 12 months, suspended for two years with 15 days rehabilitation activities by Judge Peter Ralls, QC, at Exeter Crown Court. 

He told him: "You allowed two other people to carry out this activity and had no idea of the potential value of the yield. It was the first crop and you had no intention of selling it. 

"It was for your own use and you assumed the two others were going to use it themselves. You are assessed as posing a low risk of reoffending and are in poor health. 

"If you grow cannabis again, you can rest assured you will go to prison." 

Mr Lee Bremridge, prosecuting, said police searched Bradfield's home on October 19 last year and found 52 plants growing in two bedrooms with all the usual lights, fans and other kit. 

The potential yield was about 130 grams, which would have had a street value of £10,000 to £30,000 if split into £10 deals. 

Miss Julia Bradbury, defending, said Bradfield is in poor health and living on disability allowance as a result of an accident five years ago which ended his working life. 

She said he suffered damage to tendons in his legs which is likely to lead to him being unable to walk in the future and caused the pain which led him to use cannabis. 

She said he had been approached by two men and agreed to allow them to grow the drug at his home in exchange for him receiving enough for his medicinal use. 

She said: "It was the worst decision of his life and something he now regrets because of the position in which he finds himself and the anxiety it has caused to his children. He was described as naive by the probation report."