The smell of cannabis alerted police to cannabis plants being grown in a flat in Ramsey,

Dwayne Giles, aged 31, of Waverley Terrace, has been fined £600 for cultivating and possessing cannabis.

Giles admitted having five plants at his home address on May 25.

Prosecutor Hazel Carroon told the court that police were called to flats at Waverley Terrace after someone reported smelling cannabis.

When police entered one of Giles’ neighbour’s flats they found Giles and two other people with two spliffs.

A search of Giles’ flat found two small tents with five small cannabis plants in the early stages of growth.

Giles told police he used the drug to self-medicate but he was struggling to afford it so he thought it would be a good idea to grow his own. He said he had bought a hydroponics system on the internet and had some cannabis seeds from a previous plant.

He said he didn’t know if he would harvest any of the drug and it was said that no yield could be predicted because the plants were in their very early stages.

The court heard that a suspended sentence imposed in 2017 had expired shortly before the commission of these offences but that Giles only had a previous caution for cannabis possession.

A probation report said that Giles had given up using cannabis and that he was avoiding interacting with a negative peer group. He was said to have received an offer of employment as a chef.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood said that ’every cloud has a silver lining’ and the proceedings had been the ’kick up the backside’ that Giles needed.

’Another element of the silver lining is that now he has a room available to have his daughter around,’ said the advocate.

’And I’m sure the court will agree that is much more important than his cannabis use.’

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes ordered Giles to pay £125 prosecution costs.

He will pay the fine and costs at a rate of £10 per week deducted from benefits.