A cannabis farmer whose Narnia-style attic set-up was hidden behind a wardrobe door made £25k from his crimes, a judge ruled.

Richard Osborne, 67, was spared an immediate prison sentence in May, after he was convicted of supplying cannabis and possession of criminal property.

Police officers discovered the extraordinary drugs farm in the loft of his Banbury home in 2021, after he was arrested off the A34 services with £9,600-worth of cannabis in his car.

A false wall in the attic hid the fact that the loft space had been divided in two, with a wardrobe concealing the Narnia-like farm operation in the hidden room.

Oxford Mail: Richard Osborne outside court during his trial Picture: Oxford MailRichard Osborne outside court during his trial Picture: Oxford Mail (Image: Oxford Mail)

On Thursday (October 12), Recorder John Bate-Williams ruled that Osborne made more than £25,250 from his illegal enterprise.

The ‘available amount’ – funds available to the defendant that could be paid to the Treasury under Proceeds of Crime Act rules – was set at £10,300.

Oxford Crown Court heard that the funds were already in the possession of the police. It included £10,000 in bank notes found in a wall cavity beneath a windowsill in Osborne’s historic farmhouse.

Although largely academic given the money is already in the hands of Thames Valley Police, if the confiscation order is not paid then the defendant faces two years in prison in default.