The head chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant grew cannabis alongside his tomatoes. Richard Leonard, 43, who has resigned from the Cat Inn, in West Hoathly, Sussex, was caught growing the drug in a greenhouse at his home. He said everything he did was “organic and self-sufficient, including the home-grown cannabis”.

Police found 21 plants, heat lamps and blackout blinds. Leonard said he used the drug to unwind after working up to 70 hours each week. He admitted producing the class B drug when he appeared at Crawley magistrates’ court and was fined £340 and ordered to pay £119 costs. He told the bench he wanted to stand up for thousands of cannabis users.