'I hold my hands up': Guernsey man, 45, jailed after admitting to growing cannabis at home

A man has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison by Guernsey's Royal Court after admitting to growing cannabis at his home.

Police officers searched the home of Bruce Mroch, 45, and found two "grow tents" and eight cannabis plants on his property.

He also had two glass jars containing herbal cannabis, plus a number of loose leaves with an estimated street value of more than £3,300.

The ceiling of his home, which was being rented, had been damaged to allow for venting and hoses.

Upon his arrest in St Peter Port, Mroch admitted his guilt, saying: "I hold my hands up, I'm guilty as charged."

He says the plants were purely for helping him deal with a painful lump on his chest, but that he couldn't apply for medicinal cannabis as he had previously spent time in prison for selling drugs.

Defending Advocate Alan Merrien urged the court to consider a suspended sentence, saying that Mroch regretted what he did and that it played on his mind every day.

However, in sentencing him, Judge Catherine Fooks said he had previously served time for supplying Class A drugs and was under a court supervision order when the police went to his house with a search warrant last September.

She said she factored this into his sentencing, as well as the fact children were living at his home and that his set-up was sophisticated.

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