A MAN who turned an "office" at a sea cadets' headquarters into a cannabis factory, has been jailed for five years.

Jamie Hay, aged 34, of Danson Road, Bexleyheath, pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to cultivating the drug.

The court heard Hay had leased a container on the site of Chislehurst and Sidcup Sea Cadets headquarters, in Sandy Lane, St Paul's Cray.

Police raided it in February last year, following a tip off.

There they discovered more than 1,000 cannabis plants in various stages of cultivation.

Christopher Coltard, prosecuting, said the plants had a potential yield of 40kg of cannabis a year, worth £250,000 on the streets.

At an earlier hearing, Hay had tried to blame other people.

He maintained his only role had merely been to allow the container to be used.

But Judge Edward Southwell rejected this, saying he believed Hay had played a leading part in the operation from the outset.

On Hay's behalf, Matthew McDonagh said Hay looked after his sick wife, who would suffer if he was sent to jail and drew on the government's proposed reclassifying of cannabis to the judge.

But Judge Southwell said he had to deal with Hay according to how the law currently stands.

Basing the profits on the wholesale value of the cannabis about £100,000 the judge told Hay: "Whatever the current law, it doesn't excuse greed on this kind of scale.

"This is a case of greed in a man who was capable of earning a respectable and worthwhile living by legitimate means."

November 30, 2001 9:31