Dozen cannabis plants discovered after van leaves road, driver falls into ditch

Article content

It was hardly a celebratory Christmas eve for a man in the U.K. whose vehicle went off the road and ended up in a ditch, revealing the gift of 12 illegal cannabis plants for pursuing officers.

Article content

According to the West Bridgford Wire, local officers followed the vehicle from Lincoln to Newark after spotting what’s being described as a “massive bullseye on the windscreen.” The officers were with the Nottinghamshire Roads Policing Unit, the Newark Advertiser reports.

Article content

Upon reaching Newark, the officers opted to have a closer look, but the driver fled the scene. Additional officers were called in as the pursuit was initiated.

Citing a statement from police, West Bridgford Wire reports the van then went off the road into a field and the driver detained after he fell into a ditch.

Article content

Beyond the smashed windshield, and the driver being uninsured, officers discovered 12 cannabis plants inside the van.

Recreational cannabis is illegal throughout the U.K., with the top penalty for possession of the illicit drug being five years in prison, an unlimited fine or both, while supplying or producing cannabis punishable by up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

Article content

The police report that the driver has been arrested for a number of unidentified offences. “The driver has been placed on the naughty list and got to see Christmas in his very own room with no chimney,” the roads policing unit notes on its social media account, per the Newark Advertiser.

The police probe is continuing.

Ditches and weed don’t necessarily mix very well in the U.K. This past fall, a concerned citizen reported something seemed to be up on a road in Ingham, U.K. Responding officers dutifully checked things out and found that about 30 to 40 cannabis plants had been discarded.

Article content

And a few months earlier in the spring, still in the U.K., officers with the Malvern Police’s Safer Neighbourhood Team tweeted that members “located and seized a large quantity of cannabis plants which had been left in a ditch.”

We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with feedback and story tips at thegrowthop@postmedia.com