A failed asylum seeker who was sleeping rough in London was taken to Welshpool and told he would be killed if he left a £165,000 cannabis farm in the town centre, a court has heard.

Kastriot Gega, 27, jumped from the upstairs window of the former County Times office to escape police when officers raided the building to find a "sophisticated and professional" setup.

Officers found 157 cannabis plants inside the three-floor building located down an alleyway next to Greggs bakery during a daytime raid on September 3. Gega was later found by police on the roof of an adjoining property.

The potential value from the 13kg of cannabis seized had a potential street value of between £54,950 and £164,850.

The Albanian national was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to producing the Class B drug between August 19 and September 3. He had told an earlier court hearing that he "wasn't aware of the consequences of my job".

Prosecutor Amy Edwards told Mold Crown Court on Thursday (October 10) that two weeks before Gega was arrested, he had met with a fellow Albanian man in London who took him to mid Wales.

Gega was then placed inside the Broad Street property to water the cannabis plants but claimed he didn't know what they were there for and told that he would be killed if he left the building.

Matthew Dunford, defending, said there was a "degree of coercion" when Gega, who had ended up homeless on the streets of London, was taken to Welshpool by an Albanian man to become a gardener for the cannabis growing set-up.

Mr Dunford told the judge that Gega's priority was to return to Albania as soon as possible because he has ill family members and wants to be able to donate a kidney to his brother.

Sentencing Gega to six months in prison, Judge Nicola Saffman said the 27-year-old who had no previous convictions and an unsuccessful application for asylum to remain in the UK was "under duress" to work in Welshpool.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES:

"You played a lesser role in this case," the judge said. "You were working in a limited function under the direction of others in the chain. There was a clear element of coercion."

She added that Gega had strong personal mitigation in relation to the ill health of his family members.

Gega will serve up to three months of his sentence in custody.

Judge Saffman added: "You will be returned to your own country. That is a matter for the Government, not the court."

All the cannabis plants and cash that were found at the scene were ordered by the judge to be forfeited and destroyed.