A 62-year-old west Suffolk carpenter who grew cannabis plants to make oil for pain relief has been given a conditional discharge.

A police officer became suspicious in April last year when he saw silver ducting coming from the side of a garage at a property in London Road in Brandon, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He could hear humming coming from inside the garage and when he looked inside he found 15 large cannabis plants and 40 cuttings.

Before the court was Errol Briggs, of London Road, Brandon, who admitted production of cannabis on the basis that he suffered from arthritis and gout and used the cannabis to make oil for medicinal purposes.

Sentencing him to a conditional discharge for six months, Judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley said there was no evidence he was growing the cannabis plants to supply the drug to anyone else.

She urged him to seek medical advice in relation to pain relief in the future.

Edward Renvoize, for Briggs, said his client had had "the fright of his life" by being brought before a court and was unlikely to ever appear before a court again.