A mother ended up in court after she allowed her son to use the family home to set up a cannabis growing operation with a potential street value of more than £12,000.

Edward Newman, 28, used two bedrooms at the Feltwell Road home, in Southery, to grow 32 plants with a potential yield of between £12,360 and £16,480, Norwich Crown Court heard.

Nicholas Bleaney, prosecuting, said the electricity meter had also been tampered with to abstract more than £2,000 worth of electricity to provide heat and lighting for the cannabis.

Newman admitted producing cannabis and illegally abstracting electricity at his home and his mother Suzanne Sahan, 53, who stood tearfully beside her son in the dock, admitted allowing premises to be used for the production of cannabis on November 3 last year.

The court heard they had both been given a caution for a similar matter in 2012.

William Carter, for Sahan, said she accepted her premises were used, but had absolutely nothing to do with the cannabis growing operation.

He said Sahan had been away with her husband, who was working as a chef in Cumbria, and when she returned home she found that her son had set up the cannabis growing operation.

'She was extremely angry and did in fact say to her son to get rid of it,' Mr Carter said.

However, he said her son told her it would be alright and she was left in a difficult position.

Mr Carter said although it was her public duty to tell police, Newman was her son.

'The fact is she is his mother and did not want to see him in trouble,' he said, and added that she deeply regretted her actions.

Newman, who represented himself in court, said he had started growing the cannabis in desperation after bad weather left him laid off from work.

He said he had a drink problem and was desperate to get cash in for Christmas.

'I felt I had no option. I was not trying to live a lavish lifestyle. It was sheer desperation,' he said.

Judge Anthony Bate imposed a 12 month community order with 120 hours unpaid work on Sahan and gave a last chance to Newman, imposing an eight month jail sentence suspended for 18 months and ordering him to do 120 hours unpaid work.

He told Newman: 'I'm giving you a chance, don't throw it away.'