A drug cultivator who ran a cannabis factory from his home has been ordered to pay back £13,000 after being jailed for three and a half years.

Aaron Shade, 32, had an extravagant set up of electrical wiring, lighting, fans, plant pots and tubs of chemicals at his address in Poppy Crescent in Sheerness.

Officers found plants that had recently been harvested after obtaining a warrant to search his home in 2016.

In the kitchen there was a canvas bag with zip lock bags containing white powder, scales, smaller ‘deal bags’ and more white powder.

Tests identified the substances as cocaine.

Shade was jailed after pleading guilty to the offences but the case was brought back before Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, April 13 so he could answer for the money he earned through his illegal dealings.

DCI Lee Morton, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Shade was ordered to pay back £13,000 through the Proceeds of Crime Act, an effective piece of legislation that helps us ensure criminals can’t benefit from their illegal activity upon release from prison.

"In Shade’s case, we’ve now removed his illegal drugs, his dishonestly-earned money, and ensured he spends the next few years in prison. I hope he’ll now start to question whether his efforts were worth it."