A MAN was sentenced to two years in jail for growing 79 cannabis plants in his Southampton home.

Winchester Crown Court heard how Mariusz Pozoga, pictured, had started to farm cannabis in his Arnold Road home to pay for his rent.

Officers raided his home last month and found the plants along with £15,000- worth of hydroponic equipment in three bedrooms while Pozoga, 25, was found hiding in the loft.

His home was raided after he was found driving while disqualified along Portswood Road on September 11.

Pozoga pleaded guilty to the charges but his defending barrister, Robert Pawson, tried to convince Judge Peter Henry that he was only farming the cannabis.

Judge Peter Henry felt it was a more commercial operation after hearing the drugs were worth £15,000.

Pozoga was sentenced to two years imprisonment for cultivating cannabis, and is banned from driving for three years.

He was also sentenced for one month for possession of cannabis, the sentence to run concurrently.