A FLEETWOOD man convicted of growing cannabis at his home says he used it because it was the best way to ease the pain caused by a serious illness.

Andrew McFarlane Wilson argues the medical issue at the heart of his case is a human rights matter which needs to be addressed by a change in the law.

He was given a suspended jail term at Preston Crown Court after being found guilty at an earlier hearing of cultivating cannabis.

He was also convicted of possession of a class C drug.

The court heard that 12 plants were found at his terraced home on Arthur Street in the summer of 2004.

But the 56-year-old pleaded not guilty to the offence because he insisted it was vital medication for his condition, congential mytonia, a muscular dystrophy-type ailment which is so bad he has to use a wheelchair.

In September he was convicted of the charge and his month Recorder Ann Bancroft sentenced him to four months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

The judge said the Canadian-born Scotsman, who has lived in Fleetwood for two years, was only spared a jail term because of his poor health.

She told him that the charge was serious because, despite him having used cannabis as medication, it was still classed as an illegal substance in the eyes of the law.

Following that hearing he said this week: "It has been a nightmare and, to be honest, I feel I have been hounded and treated like a hardcore criminal.

There were so many police officers at my house neighbours thought there had been a murder.

"I know that cannabis is illegal in the eyes of the law but, to me, it relieves my pain and increases my mobility. All the so called legal drugs, like valium, have done me more harm than good.

"It was accepted that I was never trying to deal in the stuff. It was just in the privacy of my own home and doing no one any harm."