Man caught smoking drug in beer garden
BEER gardens are a popular refuge for smokers - but what Nigel Hamilton lit up outside one city pub landed him in court.
BEER gardens are a popular refuge for smokers - but what Nigel Hamilton lit up outside one city pub landed him in court.
Police who went to the Old England pub in St Paul's detected the distinctive scent of cannabis wafting from the beer garden, Bristol Crown Court heard yesterday.
They saw Hamilton smoking and, after spotting him hiding a jar under a seat, he was arrested. A search of his home later revealed cannabis worth £2,000 on the street.
Hamilton, 36, of Twenty Acres Road, Southmead, pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis in relation to the incident in April.
Robin Shellard, prosecuting, said after police arrested Hamilton they then searched his home. Mr Shellard said: "They found two small cannabis plants in a small tent. There were snap bags and a large jar, £130 cash, herbal cannabis and a small propagator."
Police also recovered a telephone message with what appeared to be a request for drugs, Mr Shellard said.
The court heard Hamilton was of previous good character, barring a public order incident.
Farah Rashid, defending, said: "He has a full-time job. He is 36 and has very limited previous convictions.
"Since the offence he has stopped using cannabis. He feels better in himself.
"He may well have learned his lesson."
Recorder Michael Selfe handed Hamilton a six-month suspended prison sentence and told him to perform 150 hours of unpaid work over the next year.
He told Hamilton: "Maybe a ban from going to the United States to see relatives (because of the drug conviction) will be significant in itself. You pleaded guilty to this offence and you are entitled to maximum credit because you pleaded guilty at the outset.
"I hope that you will put this serious offence behind you."
The recorder ordered the forfeiture and destruction of drugs and drugs paraphernalia in the case.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk 09/10/2013
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