Cannabis grower set own house on fire

[kiwi_farmer]

CHRISTINE CUNNINGHAM

19 September 2008

edp24.com

Copyright © 2008 Archant Regional

 

A man had to help rescue his wife and two young children from a burning house after equipment he set up to secretly grow cannabis caught fire, a court heard today.

 

Driving instructor James Cutting, 39, had been growing 24 plants in the loft of the family home in Sunderland Close in Norwich to feed his own habit. He even got a friend to tamper with the electricity meter to power the growing equipment, Norwich Crown Court heard.

 

But his scheme all went wrong when a fire started at his home when the equipment caught fire. Cutting raised the alarm after hearing a crackling noise and got his wife and two children who were in bed out of the house to safety, Norwich Crown Court heard.

 

Andrew Baxter, prosecuting, said when firefighters arrived he told them: “It's all my fault.” And admitted he had been growing cannabis plants in the roof of the property.

 

Mr Baxter said the damage caused to the property which was rented ran into thousands of pounds. Cutting admitted arson, illegally abstracting electricity and cultivating cannabis on May 25 this year.

 

He was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work. Judge Paul Downes told Cutting the fire was the result of his reckless actions and had caused a lot of damage to the property.

 

Michael Clare, mitigating, said it has been a foolhardy venture by Cutting. “The equipment had not been set up very professionally.” He added: “He is someone who has been foolish rather than anything deliberate.”

 

He said Cutting had not used cannabis since the incident.

[cheeba]

24 plants in the loft of the family home in Sunderland Close in Norwich to feed his own habit.

 

...am I the only one not buying the whole "personal use" bit?

I'm just wondering why he admitted arson...

[SinnSmokah]

Maybe the guy just smokes heaps. He rolls such fat doobies, hes gotta use a blowtorch to light em and he burnt the house down havin a massive spliff

 

Stood too close to the curtain with the blowtorch. "Heard crackling" yeh right buddy we know the truth.