A MAN has been told he "cannot afford to put a step wrong" after avoiding jail for his role in establishing a cannabis factory in a Bradford house.

Sam Morley, 25, of Carton Court, West Bowling, said he had been paid £250 to help set up the farm in the upstairs bedrooms and attic of a property on Shelley Grove between February and March last year, Bradford Crown Court heard.

He had already pleaded guilty to a charge of producing a controlled class B drug the day before a scheduled trial.

The court heard that on March 11 last year, police found the cannabis factory after reports of men fleeing the house with plants.

Officers removed 31 plants in total, yielding cannabis with a street value of between £11,200 and £12,600.

Morley was arrested after police found his fingerprints on a fan used in one of the bedrooms of the house.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC sentenced Morley, described to the court as a "desperate alcoholic", to 15 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a six-month alcohol treatment requirement.

He said: "Perhaps you're worth a try, but you cannot breach this order. You cannot afford to put a step wrong for the next 18 months."