PORTLAND, England, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A British prisoner convinced guards his marijuana plants were tomato plants -- and they even allowed him to decorate one as a Christmas tree, a source said.

Mohamed Jalloh, 28, of Brent, North London, grew his pot plants at Verne Prison in Portland, Dorset, in southern England, and for five months, guards admired his gardening, The Sun reported Saturday.


But after another inmate told guards what the plants really were, they checked out photos of marijuana plants on the Internet, and the jig was up.

"You could see the plants from the grounds, as his cell looks on to the education department and communal outside area," a source said. "They were on show for the world to see."

Jalloh is serving eight years for supplying drugs.