A mum grew cannabis plants with a street value of more £28,000 and exhausted fumes from the grow room though her children’s bedroom.
Mother of two Sasha Cracknell (21) had 57 plants between 3ft-4ft tall when police raided her then home in Allenby’s Chase, Sutton Bridge, on July 5 last year.
Rebecca Ritson, prosecuting, said the grow room was in an upstairs bedroom which contained equipment including sodium lights, fans, transformers and light switches.
She said: “Fumes from the bedroom were exhausted into the other bedroom, where the children’s beds were situated.”
The plants had a potential yield of 2.83kgs of the class B controlled drug.
Miss Ritson said experts estimated the street value of the cannabis to be £28,330 while the wholesale value would be between £10,000 and £12,600.
On that basis, she said, sentencing guidelines suggested a custody range of between two-and-a-half and five years.
Miss Ritson said Cracknell told police officers she had assistance in the setting up of the room from other people, who she refused to name, and it was for “her own personal use”.
Cracknell, now of Croft Road, Upwell, pleaded guilty to growing the drug and Spalding magistrates on Thursday decided their sentencing powers were insufficient to deal with the case and sent her to the crown court for sentence.
Presiding magistrate John Reynolds said the number of plants found in the grow room were “capable of producing significant quantities for commercial use and the starting point in that case is one year’s custody”.
Solicitor Rachel Stevens, mitigating, said it was Cracknell’s intention to grow cannabis solely for her own use to save money, but she was helped in the project by others and had a lot of equipment given to her.
She said there was no evidence of Cracknell ever dealing in cannabis.
Miss Stevens continued: “She really had no idea that what she was doing could be regarded quite so seriously as it clearly has been once it has been detected.
“It is something that has happened through pure naivety on her part.
“This was purely something that she was doing for herself.”
Miss Stevens said Cracknell grew a high number of plants because she had absolutely no idea whether they were going to survive – and didn’t know whether they were going to be male or female plants or be useful.
Miss Stevens said Cracknell lost her accommodation because “her landlord was unhappy at the discovery of the cannabis” and she is now living with family members.
She said Cracknell was of previous good character.
Cracknell was given unconditional bail to attend the crown court hearing, which will be held on a date notified to her.