A 31-YEAR-OLD man who helped look after a £100,000 cannabis factory in Lye has been spared jail.

When police officers attended an industrial estate in Enterprise Drive they quickly became aware of the strong smell of cannabis, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

They then found what was a "significant" factory containing 158 cannabis plants which were near maturity - Timothy Harrington, prosecuting, said.

He told the court the "large commercial enterprise" involved the plants being grown inside a number of tents and the electricity supply had been tampered with to get power for the unit.

Mr Harrington said the DNA of Kevin Upton was recovered from a glove and sleeping bag that indicated someone had been sleeping on the premises.

Upton was traced and arrested and when questioned he maintained he had nothing to do with setting up the factory and that he had acted purely as a gardener.

He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of the controlled drug and he was given a 15-month jail term, suspended for two years.

Upton was also told he must carry out 200 hours unpaid work in the community and to pay £1,800 towards prosecution costs.

Mr Harrington said two other men had been arrested along with Upton, of Cedar Road, Cannock, but they had not been proceeded by police.