Tyneside man admits growing 57 cannabis plants at home
Benjamin Rudd, 39, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis after police seized 57 plants from his former home on Northumberland Road in Lemington. Prosecutors reject his claim the crop was for personal use and allege at least some was for onward sale, so the court ordered a Newton hearing to decide the basis for sentence.
🇬🇧 Northumberland Road, Lemington, Newcastle upon Tyne · United Kingdom
Police attended Benjamin Rudd’s then address on Northumberland Road in Lemington
in October last year and found he had been cultivating cannabis.[1]Officers
seized 57 cannabis plants found within the premises and arrested the 39-year-old
Rudd.[1]Rudd, now of Beacon Rise in Gateshead, appeared at Newcastle
Magistrates’ Court this week and pleaded guilty to producing a class B drug on
the basis that it was for his own personal use.[1]
Prosecutor Jade Houston said the Crown did not accept that basis and maintained
Rudd must have been growing some of the cannabis for onward sale.[1]Houston
told the court the Crown disputed the personal-use claim because of the amount
involved.[1]District Judge Paul Currer ordered a Newton hearing to determine
why Rudd was growing the cannabis, saying the finding would make a material
difference to sentence.[1]
The judge said the court would decide whether the cannabis was for onward sale
or personal use as the basis for sentence.[1]Rudd’s Newton hearing was listed
for February 2 at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.[1]He was released on
unconditional bail in the meantime.[1]
Photos and video
Benjamin Rudd pictured at Newcastle Magistrates' Court. Photo: ChronicleLivePhoto details
The article dates the raid only to October last year, so no exact day for the seizure and arrest is recorded; October 2025 is inferred from the November 2026 publication date.
The guilty plea is dated only to this week, so 7 November 2026, the article's publication date, stands in for the plea date.
The Newton hearing is listed only as February 2 with no year stated, presumed to be 2 February 2027.
No weight, yield, street value or number of growing rooms for the 57 plants was published.
No second accessible account of this case was found; the report rests on a single Chronicle Live article.
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