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TWO police officers arrested a man for growing cannabis - moments after telling him he had won an award from their chief constable.

Adrian Mailer, 33, was hand-picked to get a commendation from Tayside Police boss Justine Curran for giving first aid to a nine-year-old boy who was injured in an accident.

But when officers went to his home to deliver the good news, they caught a whiff of Mailer's dope farm and arrested him.

A police source said: "The officers were there to tell him that he had been selected to receive an award.

"Mailer had helped out when this young boy was severely injured after he was involved in an accident while driving an off-road buggy.

"But the officers noticed a pungent smell of cannabis from another room.

"Mailer went from hero to villain in a split-second and was nicked on the spot. It goes without saying that the award was withdrawn."

The officers found a tent inside his bedroom in which cannabis plants were being cultivated.

At Perth Sheriff Court last week Mailer admitted growing the cannabis last month.

Prosecutor Helen Nisbet said: "Officers came across a tent, within which they found three cannabis plants. They found fertiliser, lamps and seedlings within a cupboard."

Mailer's lawyer Mark Alder said: "He grew the plants for his own personal use."

His brush with the law came about after he helped a boy who shattered his skull when he crashed a petrol-powered dune buggy.

The child, who was not wearing a helmet and cannot be named, was driving the off-road vehicle at high speed when he lost control and plunged down an embankment.

He was knocked unconscious and Mailer, who was first to arrive on the scene, called paramedics.

Perth Sheriff Court was told quick medical care helped the boy to make a full recovery.

Martin Boag, 29, of Perth, admitted exposing the boy to unnecessary suffering or injury and will be sentenced later.

Sheriff Michael Fletcher fined Mailer £450.