A war of words has broken out between a tenant and her former landlord who claimed to have found cannabis growing in the house she rented.

Two weeks ago, Peter Hudson produced pictures of a miniature marijuana factory he said had been cultivated at the address in Crown Road, Sittingbourne.

The businessman, who rents out 27 properties around the town, alleged Teresa Dalton owed him £1,944.50 in unpaid rent which he said forced him to take her to court to reclaim.

But the tenant, who moved out of the house last month after living there for a year, has denied she has anything to do with the cannabis.

She has also revealed a series of text messages and WhatsApp correspondence that she claims was between her and her sister, Tracey Lund, and Mr Hudson.

She said: “He didn’t take me to court – I got out on the day he wanted me to get out.

“I sent him a message asking for stuff from the house; a fridge freezer and a cabinet which was my father-in-law’s and he died.

“After that, I started getting these messages calling me a scumbag, telling me to watch out.”

The 46-year-old also alleges she never got her £500 security deposit back when she moved out after Mr Hudson said she damaged the property.

But Ms Dalton has said the damage resulted from two burglaries, which the police confirmed were reported to them and are being investigated.

She says the problems started when she fell behind in her rent after her 23-year-old daughter, who was paying some of it, moved out.

Ms Dalton was unable to continue paying the full rent of £725 and contributed around £490 each month from her housing benefit.

Mr Hudson defended his reputation as a landlord, arguing he had continually tried to help Ms Dalton catch up on missed payments.

He said: “Some people put you to the edge and you do things you regret.”

He added the house had been fully renovated and was in good order before Ms Dalton moved in.

He claimed she had constantly been behind on her rent and said he hadn’t seen the texts.

A police spokesman confirmed a number of text messages had been brought to their attention and the cannabis farm was still being investigated.