AN ILLEGAL Albanian immigrant has been 'potted' by a judge after a police raid on a former snooker hall in central Bradford uncovered a huge cannabis farm.

When officers forced their way into the first floor premises in Westgate on November 17 last year, Bledar Simaku made a break for it by getting on to the roof and jumping down.

Prosecutor Camille Morland told Bradford Crown Court that despite fracturing his leg, Simaku, 23, tried to flee through Bradford city centre but he was tracked by CCTV and arrested.

Miss Morland said the cannabis farm included equipment such as heat lamps, fans and a watering system and the electricity meter had been bypassed.

She said Simaku's fingerprints were later found on two fans and the cannabis grow involved between 500 and 600 plants. Simaku's Albanian ID card was found at the scene and he later admitted that he had entered the UK illegally.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of production of cannabis and was jailed for 15 months by Recorder Anthony Hawks.

The judge said he accepted that Simaku had been manipulated by more criminally sophisticated people, but added: “Cannabis farms are becoming a complete scourge in this country and they cannot continue without people like you assisting in the production."

Simaku will serve half of his 15-month jail sentence before being automatically deported back to Albania.