A JOINER faces prison after he was convicted of running a cannabis factory at a house he owned on the Cheshire-Flintshire border.

Mark Christopher Axon, 27, claimed he knew nothing about the conversion of two rooms at the four-bedroomed house in Fairfield Road, Broughton, into cannabis-growing areas.

Plants with a potential street value of £39,000 were found during a police raid, but Axon said they were nothing to do with him and blamed his tenants.

But today (Friday) a jury at Mold Crown Court found him guilty after three-and-a-half hours by a majority of 11 to one.

Judge Niclas Parry told him he had been convicted on overwhelming evidence. “This is a serious matter. You must prepare yourself for a custodial sentence,” he said.

Axon was bailed on condition that he does not enter Fairfield Road and does not approach some of his former neighbours who gave evidence at the trial.

Axon, a builder and joiner, owns three properties, the court heard.

Now a specialist police investigation is to take place into his financial affairs, under The Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), to see how much money he made from drugs and how much can be confiscated.

A POCA hearing will take place in September.

The court heard how police found 51 cannabis plants with a potential yield valued at £39,000

Axon, of Cheyney Street in Chester, denied producing the class B drug. But neighbours said the only people they ever saw at the house were Axon and another man, who had already admitted being concerned in the production of the cannabis.

Stephen Leonard Roberts, 41, of Raymond Street in Chester, was called to give evidence on behalf of the prosecution and he said both he and Axon worked on the bedrooms ready for ‘a grow’.

He said they installed loft insulation and erected grey foil sheeting over the walls, covering the windows.

Mr Roberts said the insulation was to try and prevent the police helicopter’s heat detector picking the house out.

The court heard how the electricity meter had been by-passed so the power free.

Axon was bailed pending sentence next month.