Patricia Hewitson with the cannabis plant which had been growing outside her house (Picture: SWNS)

She doesn’t look like your average cannabis grower, but that’s what Patricia Hewitson was.

The only problem is that she didn’t know it until she contacted a BBC gardening show for help with identifying the mysterious plant.

The 65-year-old from Exmouth, Devon, emailed The Potting Shed programme with a picture of the cannabis but she received a reply saying it had been forwarded on to police.

She was told by police to compost it, take it to the police station, or drop it off at a recycling centre.


She said: ‘It was very small at first, about the size of a petunia, with only four leaves. But I watched it grow until it was as tall as me.

The BBC contacted police over the plant but they told her to destroy it and no further action would be taken (Picture: SWNS)

‘As it got bigger and bigger I got nervous because it was starting to look a bit suspicious so I decided to contact The Potting Shed for help.



‘They instantly confirmed that it was cannabis and they gave me all sorts of advice on how to dispose of it.

‘Pippa and Sarah also sent on the pictures of the plant to Devon and Cornwall Police, although they didn’t give them my details.

‘The police got back in touch with Pippa and Sarah, letting them know that it did look like cannabis but that they wouldn’t be pressing charges.

‘I don’t mind that they contacted the police, they had to do it. It put my mind to rest, knowing that I definitely wouldn’t be prosecuted.’

Patricia thinks it grew from a hemp seed which came from a 25 kilo bag of RSPB bird feed.

She said: “I think a seed must have fallen out of my bird feeder and landed in the flowerbed.