# UK Media Report: “Pensioners turned £1m home into cannabis farm” …He had cancer, they had 25 plants, he sold a bit on the side > A couple in their 70s turned their £1m rural home into a cannabis farm after the husband started using the drug to self-medicate for his cancer. - Published: 2026-11-08 - By: Green Ark - Places: United Kingdom - Web page: https://www.greenark.io/articles/uk-media-report-pensioners-turned-1m-home-into-cannabis-farm-he-had-cancer-they-had-25-pla **The British press love a story like this!** A couple in their 70s turned their £1m rural home into a cannabis farm after the husband started using the drug to self-medicate for his cancer. Mark Ayres, 71, and his wife Marion, 70, were caught with £46,000 worth of the drug when police raided their four-bedroom property on the outskirts of Attleborough in Norfolk. The couple – who have been married for more than 50 years – appeared at Norwich Crown Court on Thursday where they were sentenced for drug offences. Danielle O’Donovan, prosecuting, said a warrant was executed in May last year after it came to light that this enterprise was “ongoing and of some significance”. Mark appeared in court having previously admitted possession with intent to supply [cannabis](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cannabis) and production of cannabis. His wife appeared alongside him in the dock having admitted production of cannabis over a limited period. ![Mark Ayres admitted possession with intent to supply cannabis and production of cannabis](https://hermes.media.static.aol.com/media/2026/11/06/0d00aa77-9d3d-3b2d-ba4a-43c5994f56d0/525dd13c-54a3-48cc-ac19-edcd14805a06.jpeg) The court was told Mark was diagnosed with [cancer](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cancer) in 2018 and conducted research into the medicinal benefits of the drug. He then began growing cannabis at a former gym in his home when the disease returned in 2023. Mark, who has been listed as director at multiple companies, later began selling the drug on to others. Jailing Mark for three-and-a-half years, Recorder John Hardy said he and his wife had led “blameless lives” and “should’ve been looking forward to the golden years of retirement”. But he said following “health difficulties” the defendant had “developed a business which you hid behind a veneer of respectability” in producing and selling cannabis. Mr Hardy imposed nine months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, on Marion, who he was satisfied played a lesser role. ![Police found 25 cannabis plants and 5.7kg of dry cannabis at the home in Burgh Common, near Attleborough](https://hermes.media.static.aol.com/media/2026/11/06/0d00aa77-9d3d-3b2d-ba4a-43c5994f56d0/ab440c45-2383-4ffa-9b3d-87cea283aaaa.jpeg) Andrew Oliver, mitigating, said Mark was someone “who undertook a great deal of research relating to the medicinal benefits of cannabis”. He said the defendant initially used CBD oil, a legal product, but after his cancer returned in 2023, and after losing one of his parents and his father-in-law to cancer, he wanted to “throw everything and anything at his treatment”. “The way in which he did this was by using cannabis,” said Mr Oliver. The barrister said he started small, with just eight plants in 2023, but extended this to 25, which were found when he was arrested. Police also found 5.7kg of dry cannabis at the home in Burgh Common, near Attleborough. ### A ‘law-abiding’ life He said Mark had led a “law-abiding” life and had no previous convictions, nor had he used cannabis since his arrest. The court was told Mark regretted the fact his wife had become involved in the operation, which Mr Oliver said had been a “one-man band”. The barrister said she had performed a limited role in what had been happening. He said she had “acquiesced to him doing it” and on one occasion bought some bags off the internet for the drugs. Speaking after sentencing, Sergeant Dan Shelley said: “Drug production and supply can have a hugely damaging impact on our communities and we continue to take action against those responsible. “We’d encourage anyone who has concerns about drugs in their neighbourhood to report it to police so we can identify and investigate any suspected criminal activity.” --- Information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on it. Source: Green Ark (www.greenark.io).