A father-of-three who had won £1.25 million on the Lottery in 1999 has been jailed for growing cannabis at his home after a failed business venture.

Property investor Richard Storey, 52, had bought houses in the Kent seaside town of Margate in the hope of renovating and selling them on for a profit.

But his portfolio collapsed when he had to look after his ill wife, Basildon crown court heard.

The father-of-three resorted to growing cannabis to pay the mortgage on his £700,000 detached home and children's private school fees, the court was told. Police found 377 cannabis plants in his home in Ramsden Bellhouse, near Billericay, Essex, on 5 September last year.

Storey claimed half the plants would not yield cannabis and he only made £50,000 profit from the venture. He had two previous convictions for possession of cannabis but had given up smoking the drug, the court heard.

He pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and fraudulently extracting electricity. He was sentenced to 16 months' prison. Judge John Lodge said: “You chose to get out of financial difficulties by setting up a criminal enterprise.”

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