Three-bedroomed house had been converted into cannabis-producing operation in Boston street

Police raided the property in Tawney Street and found a total of 89 cannabis plants.

Mark Watson, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court the plants, most of them were four to five weeks old, were growing inside the house.

Extra lighting and an extraction system had been installed to help cultivate them, and windows were blacked out and the electricity meter had been bypassed.

Mr Watson said that the potential value of the cannabis crop was a minimum of £15,000.

As a result of the police investigation Tadas Burinskas was arrested.

He admitted he had acted as a gardener and had been watering the plants. He said he was approached to assist when he was homeless. He agreed to get involved after being offered accommodation and £20 a week.

Burinskas, 35, formerly of Tawney Street, Boston, but now living in Romford, Essex, admitted unlawful production of cannabis on 27 August 2017.

He was given an eight month prison sentence suspended for two years and fined £750 with £340 prosecution costs.

Leanne Summers, in mitigation, said Burinskas only agreed to get involved because he was homeless at the time.

She said he has since moved to Essex and now has stable accommodation and a job.