A man caught growing nearly half-a-million pounds worth of class B drugs inside his Cambridgeshire home has been jailed.

Ervis Cira filled four rooms of his Westbourne Road house in Chatteris with more than 500 cannabis plants and was arrested following a raid on January 8.

A total of 503 plants were found in the 30-year-old's property just after 8.30am after officers went up a set of stairs and found a doorway covered in white sheeting.

Cira pleaded guilty to producing a class B drug and was jailed for two years and eight months at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday, February 14.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: "We searched the property and discovered that the electric had been bypassed around the meter and fed into a white box with cables leading to various rooms in the property.

"The plants were seized alongside a large amount of cultivation equipment.

"Analysis found the plants had the capacity to produce up to 42kg of cannabis, worth a value of approximately £422,520."

DC Ralph King said: "This warrant stopped a huge amount of drugs from reaching the streets of Cambridgeshire.

"I'm pleased our work has disrupted Cira's drug operation and I hope the sentencing shows how seriously this type of criminality is taken by the police and the courts."

If you suspect somebody is involved in drug production or dealing, you can report it online at www.cambs.police.uk/Report or calling 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.