Paul Adamson, 30, of Market Street, Newton-le-Willows, admitted growing 23 cannabis plants in a tent before St Helens Magistrates' Court last week.

The court heard how police were called to the area to deal with another matter on October 22 last year before scenting a strong smell of the Class B drug from the defendant's address.

When officers investigated a room at the top of the stairs they found a large box tent containing 23 cannabis plants and several high-powered lamps. Each plant was growing in a separate pot.

Police seized the plants, the tent, the lamps and a bag of plant food.

When interviewed by officers later that day, Adamson confirmed that he lived at the address with his partner and had been growing the cannabis for his own use.

Describing himself as "a massive cannabis addict", Adamson claimed it had become harder and harder to buy the recreational drug.

Frank Roe, defending, argued that his client had only started smoking cannabis to help him get on top of his attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.

Mr Roe claimed his client would struggle more than most to fulfil any unpaid work order because of the scale of his cannabis use.

Magistrates gave Adamson a 12-month supervision order in which he must complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 in costs.

A forfeiture order was made in respect of the cannabis plants and the items Adamson used to cultivate them.