A VEHICLE recovery driver who moved a car off the M4 found all the parts for a cannabis factory in its boot.

The police asked for the Toyota Corolla to be taken off the hard shoulder near Swindon when they arrested the Vietnamese driver for not having a licence.

When the car was moved it was found to contain more than 200 cannabis plants, hydroponics lighting and blackout material for windows.

Hoang Bui, 27, of Reynolds Road, Peckham, admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis.

Ian Halliday, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that a motorway officer spotted the car on the westbound carriageway on October 12 last year.

"He pulled over and the defendant was found in the driver's seat having a cigarette. The officer established there was nothing wrong and the defendant was taking a rest," he said.

He did not have a driving licence and did not own the car so was arrested.

Mr Halliday said: "The car, of course, couldn't be left safely on the hard shoulder and the police have an agreement with a local service station for abandoned cars to be recovered and impounded."

When the car was checked, three boxes containing 206 small cannabis plants were found.

"The police conducted a more thorough search of the vehicle and, as well as the three boxes of plants, also seized were some light bulbs, some hydroponics plant fertilizer and some black sheet suitable for blacking out windows," he said.

Chris Oswald, defending, said his client knew cannabis was in the car when he agreed to drive it to from London to Bristol.

He was paid £100 by a man who provided work on the black economy in London. He came to the UK in 2002 after being tortured in Vietnam. He was jailed for eight months.