Cannabis was found at his home in Stilton.

A MAN who set up a cannabis factory in his Stilton home has been ordered to pay back almost £50,000.

James Hobbs, 41, was first caught in July 2010 after his fingerprints were discovered at a cannabis factory near Louth, Lincolnshire. Officers then discovered more than 100 cannabis plants in outbuilding at his address in Holme Road, Yaxley.

Five months later he was arrested for possessing cannabis after he was stopped in a car in South Wales. As a result his new home, in Oak Road, Stilton, was searched and two rooms were found to have hydroponics set up with 126 cuttings and two mature cannabis plants.

He was jailed for 16 months in March this year.

At Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (September 28), Judge Sean Enright made a confiscation order determining that Hobbs had a criminal benefit of £137,619. He was ordered to pay £47,341 within six months or face a further 13 months in prison.

Financial Investigator Detective Constable Mark Stratton said: “Hobbs refused to stop growing cannabis and was ultimately jailed for his offending.

“He made a huge amount of money through his criminality and we’re pleased he now has to pay a large chunk of that back.”