A jobless car valeter has been jailed in connection with a massive cannabis grow - potentially worth up to about £117,000 - found at one of the oldest pubs in the city.
Maciej Bajorek was arrested after he spotted inside the ex-Loggerheads pub in Cliff Road - which closed in 2009 - on Friday, September 20, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis outside and could see cannabis plants through a gap in the back door and a bright glow.
"Believing people to be present, they knocked on the back door, and the defendant was seen momentarily at a first-floor window," explained Jon Fountain, prosecuting.
"Officers gained entry to the premises, whilst this defendant attempted to escape via a first-floor window onto a flat roof. He was detained after he made a phone call, then threw his phone down in an obvious attempt to destroy it."
Inside the old pub were 140 cannabis plants spread across five rooms in what Mr Fountain described were "sophisticated set-ups".
As well as the growing plants, dried cannabis was discovered.
Bajorek, 25, of Cliff Road, had been living there alone but was not the prime mover of the illegal enterprise.
He pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and abstracting electricity.
The plants had the potential to produce 1.7 kilos and had a street value up to approximately £117,000.
If sold in bulk per kilo, it could have been traded for about half of that amount.
Mr Fountain said it was a commercial operation, designed to produce significant amounts of cannabis.
"If not interrupted on that day, it is reasonable to conclude it would have continued," he told the court. "To maximise profits from the operation, the electricity was bypassed with about £6,000 worth of electricity extracted."
Bajorek - who heard the case translated through a Polish interpreter - provided his identity card in advance of the premises being rented and paid the council tax and other bills by direct debit.
Jasvir Mann, mitigating, said Bajorek, a man of previous good character, worked as a car valeter for an Audi dealership but lost the job when the business changed hands.
He was "effectively homeless", said Mr Mann, and without an income or accommodation.
Judge Sally Hancox, who sentenced Bajorek to 18 months in prison, accepted he was in need of food and shelter a that time.
"But I must reflect, in my sentence, the fact that you took your friend's offer of accommodation on the understanding that would be looking after cannabis growth," she said.
"You, therefore, knew the scale of the operation and others involved in it. What payment there was was to pay for bills and other shopping, and you were given some cash to compensate you for any expenses that you incurred.
"You may not have known what was happening to the cannabis after it left your care, but you were prepared to provide your own details so that the property could be registered for council tax and for the payment for electricity bills and the like."
