A MAN who armed himself with a stun gun to defend a £15,000 cannabis crop from thieves has been jailed for seven years.

Jonathan Cuthbert was caught in possession of the weapon when police raided the commercial drug farm in West Royd Drive, Shipley, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

Three large dogs were roaming the garden at the address where 46 cannabis plants were being cultivated.

Cuthbert, 23, had a stun gun disguised as a torch in the pocket of his coat which was found in the property, prosecutor Duncan Ritchie said.

Cuthbert, of Chapel Street, Queensbury, said he bought the weapon from a friend who had acquired it in Thailand.

He believed it was a torch until he pressed the button and sparks appeared, but even then he thought it was legal to own.

Cuthbert was cautioned for production of cannabis two years ago but complained he had been "robbed" of that crop, the court was told.

He pleaded guilty to production of cannabis and possession of a stun gun disguised as a torch, a firearms offence that attracts a minimum five year jail sentence.

Mr Ritchie said Cuthbert had previous convictions for dishonesty and driving matters but had not been convicted of any offence since 2010.

In mitigation, his solicitor advocate, Kam Dhesi, said he ran up a debt after using cannabis since he was seven-years-old.

"He is very shocked, very afraid and very sorry for his actions," Mr Dhesi told the court.

He became involved in the offending at the behest of others to pay off his drug debt and fund his own heavy cannabis habit.

Cuthbert, who had just become a father, never used the stun gun to defend the cannabis crop, Mr Dhesi added.

But Judge Jonathan Rose warned that criminals who used illegal weapons to guard drug farms would be dealt with severely by the courts.

In 2014, Cuthbert received a "generous and lenient" caution for production of cannabis, saying afterwards that the crop was "robbed" by others.

The Shipley cannabis factory was a commercial enterprise with an estimated street value of £15,000 and the stun gun could have caused severe harm to others if used to protect the crop, said Judge Rose.

"You had suffered a loss and were determined not to again," he told Cuthbert as he jailed him for five years for possession of the stun gun and two years, to run consecutively, for production of cannabis.