AN Albanian man who was caught red-handed looking after a cannabis farm that had been set up in a house is beginning a 10-month prison sentence.

Ervin Cani, 25, was arrested earlier this month after officers acting on intelligence went to a house in Bolton Road, Silsden, on August 8.

Bradford Crown Court heard that the officers found 79 cannabis plants being grown in a bedroom and the attic at the house.

Prosecutor Ella Embleton said 47 plants were being grown in the bedroom with a further 32 plants located on the attic.

She said there was also a significant quantity of paraphernalia and equipment in the house including lights, electrical transformers, and ventilation tubing.

Miss Embleton said the walls and windows had also been covered with plastic sheeting.

The court heard that Cani answered “no comment” during his police interview, but at his first hearing before the magistrates' court he pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis charge.

Barrister Soheil Khan, for Cani, told the crown court that his client had no legal immigration status and had come to the country about three years ago looking for legitimate work.

He said Cani had worked as a labourer, but when that dried up he became vulnerable to being asked to look after the cannabis plants.

Mr Khan said his client had been at the property for a few days before his arrest and he had expressed remorse for his offending.

Judge Kirstie Watson said the two rooms in the house had been set up as a cannabis farm and Cani had been put there to make sure the plants grew to their full potential.

She explained that Cani would have been jailed for 15 months after a trial, but his early guilty plea meant that the sentence had to be reduced to 10 months in prison.