A WOMAN was caught growing cannabis after asking police to her home because her son went missing.

Jane Swainson, 54, of Chetwode, in Banbury, pleaded guilty at Banbury Magistrates' Court to cultivation but said the drug was for her personal use.

Rebecca Mundy, prosecuting, said Mrs Swainson called the police because her grown-up son had gone missing, and it was then that 114 cannabis plants were discovered in her home.

Ms Mundy said the police also found carrier bags bearing traces of cannabis, scales, an instruction book on cultivation, and some plastic bags. A hydroponic system was in the garden shed, which also smelled of cannabis, though the system was switched off.

Satyanam Singh, defending, said Swainson did not try to hide the plants and that she showed police officers around the house.

He said Swainson used cannabis but found it expensive to buy, and tried to cultivate her own.

He said: "But she had a change of heart and that's why the equipment was turned off. The plants found were described by forensic scientists as 'mouldy' seedlings, barely three inches high."

Mr Singh said that Swainson suffered serious problems with her teeth, that prescribed medication had not improved, and that she went back to using cannabis to ease the pain.

Swainson was fined £400 and also ordered to pay £43 costs, and a destruction order was placed on the cannabis and equipment.