Businessman had cannabis worth more than £35,000 in Batley nightclub

Jason Jean Paul Hardy had over 100 plants growing inside Mungo’s when police raided the club in December 2011, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Prosecuting, Nicoleta Alistari said the remnants of a cannabis farm were also found inside a hidden room in Hardy’s Birstall Club, Jardy’s.

After his arrest, Hardy told police three men had visited Jardy’s and asked to hire out a room at Mungo’s.

He initially refused but the men threatened to set fire to one of his businesses.

The 36-year-old, of Clough Drive, Birstall, pleaded guilty to producing a controlled Class B drug and permitting his premises to be used for production of a Class B drug on January 7.

The case was adjourned until today for sentencing.

Mitigating, Anastatis Tasou said that Hardy did not get involved in growing the drugs to fund a lavish lifestyle but wanted to save his struggling nightclubs, including one in Leeds.

He said the offences were acts of desperation, fuelled by the alcoholism he suffered from at the time.

Sentencing, Judge James Spencer QC said that Hardy now had an ‘industrious and responsible’ attitude and could be trusted.

He sentenced him to one year and 51 weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 240 hours of unpaid work.