Think you have got a weed problem?

They are more used to potatoes and peas, but pensioners at allotments in the Black Country have currently got a more unusual and unexpected crop - cannabis plants.

A number of the plants have suddenly popped up at Barlow Road Allotments in Wednesbury.

Plot holders were given the shock of their lives when they discovered the cannabis leaves which had sprung up naturally. The plants are now being destroyed.

Lawrence McGowan, aged 69, from Wednesbury, discovered a plant growing in a mound of soil on his plot.

He said: "I had never seen a cannabis plant in real life, but a council official pointed it out to me yesterday."

Former journalist Mr McGowan, who normally grows lettuces, cabbages, potatoes and onions, mistook the 18in-high plant for a weed, but then other gardeners also reported finding them.

The married father-of-three added: "It just happens to be growing on a mound of top soil. It could well be growing in another part of the allotment. That mound has been untouched for several months.

"I have never seen real live cannabis before and I have been passing it for weeks without noticing it.

"I'm just going to pull it up."

Gardening expert Vernon Johnson from Birmingham's Botanical Gardens reckoned it was likely the plants had grown from hemp seeds, which are contained in bird seed.

Mr Johnson said: "It would probably have cropped up in allotments from wild bird seed. We have had a number enquiries from people who have found it in their gardens and more often than not it is close to the bird feeding table.

"It is not illegal, strictly speaking, to grow it, it is illegal to grow it for use or to produce it."

Police spokesman Steve Garey added: "It wouldn't really be of interest unless it is organised."