A man who cultivated cannabis at a property in Broadstairs has been jailed for four years.

Frank Haines, 70, from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, was caught after neighbours at a house in Bromstone Road in Broadstairs reported suspicious activity at the address.

When officers arrived at the property in November they found one room set up with power and water supplies and another with 70 cannabis plants being grown under lighting and fans.

The electricity meter had been bypassed at an estimated cost of £9,000.

In January Haines, who pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court, was arrested and charged with producing cannabis and abstracting/using electricity without authority.

Investigating officer PC Richard Guarnieri said: "When officers attended the address the smell of cannabis was unmistakeable.

"Cannabis is an illegal substance and its growth and supply contributes directly to a network of drug use that fuels crime in Kent.

"Haines may have been disappointed that we discovered his secret but I trust this sentence will give him opportunity to think about the serious consequences to his behaviour.

"It should send a message out to anybody who believes they can get away with being involved in the production of drugs."