A Kent man who got into the Christmas spirit by decorating a cannabis plant with shiny baubles is spending the festive season behind bars.

Ian Richards, 46, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for drug offences by a judge at Canterbury Crown Court.

It comes a year after police officers raided his home in Attlee Avenue, Aylesham, near Canterbury.

Inside the property they found a hydroponic cannabis factory and a small number of plants - one of which was 5ft tall and had been decorated to look like a Christmas tree.

PC Darren Dennett of Kent Police said: "By using a 5ft tall cannabis plant as a Christmas tree, Richards showed a total disregard for the law.

"One of the bedrooms at his home had been transformed into a very sophisticated cannabis factory. He claimed the plants were for his own personal use but the factory clearly had the potential to produce a large quantity of cannabis.

"He is now spending his Christmas in prison and by closing down this cannabis factory we have prevented a large quantity of class B drugs from reaching the streets."