A court heard how 43-year-old Glyn Davies claimed to use the crop from the drugs farm in his loft to ease his painful back condition.

Police raided Davies' previous home in Keevil, in June, where they discovered five plant pots, filled with soil and the remains of cannabis plants.

The plants were in a three metre-squared, cordoned-off area of the loft, which was lined with tin foil and mirrors and had ultraviolet lamps bolted to the ceiling. Police also found a bag of skunk cannabis, a container filled with seeds and a pipe used for smoking the drug.

Davies, now from Gastard, in Corsham, pleaded guilty at Chippenham Magistrates Court last Thursday to cultivating cannabis.

Nicky Wootton, prosecuting, said Davies admitted growing the drug and setting up the farm's hydroponics water system, but insisted it was for personal use.

She told the court the small amount of cannabis discovered was valued at £250, which she said was consistent with his claims.

Ann Ellery, defending, told the court she was surprised that Davies' case had come to court and that the police did not give her client a warning.

"Considering my client's age and that he was of previous good character I think the decision to charge him was a little bit hard, and I would ask the court to take that on board," she said.

"Is it not less serious to cultivate it yourself than feed the industry everyone's trying to fight?"

She told the court that her client suffers from a back complaint and obtained the resources to cultivate a small amount of cannabis to relieve the pain. Mrs Ellery said her client had only grown a single crop, which was what the police seized.

The court sentenced Davies to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £118 towards the cost of the prosecution.