A young father has been spared jail after almost £3,000 of cocaine was found in his house.
Locksmith James Gooch, 25, was also involved in producing cannabis after a farm was discovered in the basement of a house he had previously shared with three other men in Plungington.
Officers raided the house Gooch lived in with his partner in December, last year, and discovered 12g high purity cocaine, along with caffeine tables which are often used to cut the class A drug and scales in a box on top of a boiler.
They also found £1,372 in cash at the home in Charnley Close, Penwortham.
Two months earlier officers discovered a cannabis farm at a terraced house in Brackenbury Road, where Gooch had been a tenant.
Three other men – Damien Whiteside, 32, Ashley Ribchester, 25, and Stephen Hitchen, 45 – were also arrested and all four men pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of a class B drug.
When officers arrived at the property they noticed a strong smell of cannabis and a trail of soil coming from the front door.
Hitchen was standing outside with bruises to his face.
He told officers: “It’s nothing to do with me what is in the basement,” Preston Crown Court heard on Friday.
The plants were analysed and found to have a yield of 1.06kg with a street value of up to £9,000.
Hitchen said he had moved into the property and had been unaware of the cannabis in the basement until there was a break in during which he was assaulted.
All four men appeared together for sentencing at Preston Crown Court.
Whiteside also pleaded guilty to possessing a small amount of cannabis for personal use at his address in Studholme Crescent, Penwortham.
Recorder Sally Hatfield told the men: “It is said by the three youngest of you, excluding Hitchen, that this was a joint idea amongst you as established and heavy users to grow your own, not a commercial operation for onward sale.
“Mr Hitchen, you are in a different category. You moved to that address legitimately and only became aware of the cannabis production shortly before it’s discovery.”
Recorder Hatfield said their was considerable mitigation for all four men, who had very limited previous convictions.
All three of the younger men had taken steps to address their addictions to drugs, the court heard.
Ribchester and Whiteside were each sentenced to six months suspended for 12 months and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.
Hitchen was handed a 12 month community order with 60 hours unpaid work.
Gooch was handed a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid work. He was also put on a curfew.
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