Farmer jailed for £78,000 of cannabis grown in barn

A FARMER whose daughter was stabbed to death by her partner has been jailed for growing cannabis on an "industrial scale".

• Bridget Cameron

Alexander Cameron, 62, was sentenced to six years after being found guilty of drugs production and supply from his farm near Kirknewton in West Lothian.

Cameron's daughter, Bridget, was stabbed to death by partner Scott Storey in 2004. Storey fled to Thailand for four years before being brought back to Scotland and jailed for murder.

Yesterday at the High Court in Edinburgh, Bridget's father was jailed after being caught during a police raid on his farm on July 23 last year.

Officers found a large-scale cannabis cultivation, using hydroponics system, which would have yielded a profit of around 78,000. Police said Cameron had powered his cannabis farm by illegally routing the electricity supply from a transformer to his farmhouse and the outbuilding where the cultivation was located.

Despite denying any involvement, he was found guilty of being concerned in the supply and production of cannabis and theft of electricity between February and July last year.

A police spokesman said: "Mr Cameron was involved in the production of cannabis on an industrial scale, and was caught as a result of an intelligence-led policing operation.

"Lothian and Borders Police is committed to reducing the harm caused by drugs.

"The force will continue to focus its attention on disrupting the supply of drugs throughout the Lothians and Scottish Borders, by targeting the serious organised crime groups whose activities have a serious impact on the quality of life in our local communities."

He added: "Over the last year we have made significant progress in disrupting the activities of these criminal groups, however, we continue to rely on the public to provide us with information on drug dealing or any other form of serious organised criminality in their area.

"Rest assured, that any information received will be acted upon, and treated in the strictest confidence."

Mother-of-four Ms Cameron, 35, bled to death from a gaping wound to her neck after a cocaine-fuelled row at the house she shared with partner Storey in Pirniefield Bank, Edinburgh, on the night of April 24 2004.

Storey, who had a roofing business in the Capital, was brought back from Thailand after fleeing following the murder.

Her father had sought the help of his MSP, Kenny MacAskill, in resolving the case.

Speaking in 2008, he said: "It has been very hard on me and my ex-wife Patsy, but even worse for Bridget's four children, who were all devastated by her death."