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A 74-year-old grandfather caught with more than half a kilo of cannabis has been spared jail – after he told a court he was getting too old for drug dealing.

Pensioner Francis Hester, with a long history of smuggling and growing drugs, had cannabis worth between £3,000 and £4,000.

Hester claimed that the drugs, kept in airtight containers, dated back to 2015, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

His barrister, Piers Norsworthy, said: “He will not be involved in this sort of thing again. He is too old for this sort of behaviour”.

Hester was in breach of an earlier sentence for drug dealing, the court heard.

But a judge said he would not send Hester to jail after hearing of his medical conditions and his family situation.

Hester, of Manadon Drive, Plymouth, pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply on August last year. He changed his plea on the eve of his trial.

The offence put him in breach of a 12-month suspended prison sentence imposed at Truro Crown Court in 2015 for dealing and growing cannabis.

Jason Beal, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police stopped Hester at the wheel of a Fiat camper van in Oreston Road, Plymstock, on August 8 last year.

He added officers smelt cannabis and found 17.24 grams of the drug in an overhead locker.

Mr Beal said police found further larger packages of cannabis at his home.

He added that in total he had 630 grams of the drug worth between £3,000 and £4,000.

The barrister said that Hester claimed the drugs were left over from his last cannabis grow of 2015.

The court heard that Hester was jailed for eight years in 1992 for smuggling the drug into the country.

Mr Norsworthy said that Hester was the sole carer for his partner, who was eight years his senior.

He added that the couple each suffered from health difficulties.

The barrister said there were signs Hester may be suffering from early-onset dementia.

Mr Norsworthy said he also supported his daughter, who had mental health difficulties, after her partner had been “tragically killed”.

Recorder Paul Garlick said he could take a “wholly exceptional course” and not impose the suspended sentence, even though Hester had committed a similar offence.

He added: “You are the sole carer of your partner, you have had your own health problems and there is a family tragedy you have had to bear.

“What has happened after this offence makes me certain you will never appear before these courts again.”

Hester was fined £410 for the breach of the suspended sentence with a £90 victim surcharge.

He was handed a fresh eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for the latest offence.