A VIETNAMESE man has been jailed after admitting to being "a gardener" for a major Gwent cannabis operation.

Sam Lam was sentenced to 20 months in prison for growing 245 plants from a converted home in Gladstone Street, Abertillery.

The 59-year-old, who has lived in the UK for 20 years but speaks no English, was caught when neighbours complained about the smell of cannabis from the property and Lam's frequent comings and goings.

James Evans, prosecuting at Newport Crown Court, said police followed up residents' concerns with a search of the address on December 29 last year.

He explained: "The house had been turned over to the production of cannabis, with 245 plants and relevant paraphanalia for growing. The electricity meter had been bypassed.

"The defendant was present and the time and when arrested said he was a gardener at the house."

The court heard that Lam, of no fixed address, was previously sentenced to 18 months custody in May 2010 for the same offence in the Wirral, near Liverpool.

Sentencing, Recorder Nicholas Gareth Jones told Lam: "For the second time in five years, you have been caught assisting in the production of cannabis on a commercial scale.

"The offence is so serious that it demands an immediate prison sentence."

Recorder Jones also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and associated equipment.

Andrew Jones, mitigating, said his client would find prison particularly difficult due to his lack of English.

He added: "Desperation drove him to act as he did in this way."

Lam must pay a £100 victim surcharge on his release.