Derby Crown Court heard on Friday how Vietnamese gardener Quoc Le (26) grew cannabis plants in the upstairs rooms and attic of the property on Park View, Hasland, where up to £34,000 of the drug was discovered.

Judge David Pugsley told Le: "You were brought into the country and I have no doubt you paid a lot of money to come here. You were then trapped.

"You were used by other sophisticated people to garden their crops. This is a modern form of slavery."

Sarah Allen, prosecuting told how police raided the mid-terrace house, in February, and 85 immature cannabis plants were found with stalks of another 81 harvested plants.

She said the value of the growing plants was estimated at between £22,000 and £34,000.

Le, of no fixed abode, was found at the property and claimed he was working for someone else and was instructed to look after the plants.

Miss Allen said Le admitted being involved for two months and was paid £800 a month, plus food and accommodation.

He pleaded guilty to producing a controlled class B drug and possessing criminal property and Geraldine Kelly, defending, said he should be given credit for pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

Judge Pugsley sentenced Le to 12 months' custody and told him: "People come in deplorable conditions, are transported across Europe in the pay of others and are told to keep quiet when caught.

"We're not going to collude with these evil gang-masters who bring in ill-informed people like you to set up the production of cannabis.

"I've sympathy but this isn't the answer. I recommend you be deported back to Vietnam. It's in your interests.

"It cannot be in the interests of this country that there's an invisible section of the community that can't work honestly because they don't have documentation.

"Cannabis production in these circumstances has reached epidemic proportions. People coming in from Vietnam are victims of human trafficking."