A NETHERTON man who grew cannabis to ease his medical problems has been given a suspended jail term.

When police officers went to the home of Sylvester Dennis, aged 53, they found the controlled drug was being cultivated inside two tents in a bedroom.

There were 19 small plants being grown in one of the tents, said Robert Edwards prosecuting, while there were 16 bigger plants in the second tent.

Officers also recovered equipment used to cultivate the plants, when questioned Dennis maintained it was the first time he had grown cannabis.

The plants he was producing were strictly for his personal use and he has been smoking cannabis throughout his life, said Stephen Hamblett defending.

He told Wolverhampton Crown Court that Dennis had health problems which were eased by the use of cannabis and he found it too expensive to go out and buy the drug.

Dennis, of Hallchurch Road, admitted producing cannabis and he was told by Judge Martin Walsh it had been accepted by the prosecution that the drug was for his personal use.

He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months.