A "foolish" businessman who lived in a castle grew magic mushrooms to deal with his poor health and depression, a court has heard.

Simon Giles was being quizzed on an unrelated matter when officers found class A drugs in his bathroom at his home in Lullingstone Castle in Eynsford.

The drugs - known as magic mushrooms - were found in 10 clear plastic containers.

But he avoided going to prison after a judge suspended an eight-month jail term for 18 months and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work.

Prosecutor Bridget Todd told Maidstone Crown Court that police also found other drugs paraphernalia included LED lights, a fan, heater and thermometer.

She said that on separate boxes were written fractions and acronyms, including the letters 'GT' believed to refer to a variety of magic mushroom known as Golden Teacher.

She also said bathrooms are known to be used by growers of the illegal substance.

Police also found notebooks containing lists of various weights.

"He said he had been suffering from poor mental health and depression and that the magic mushrooms had a transformational effect on his well-being," the prosecutor added.

"He decided to experiment and bought spores and guides from the internet, and understood there were different strains.

"He was surprised how quickly they began to grow and when he cut them to harvest them, they kept growing back and essentially it got out of control."

"He dried them out and vacuum-packed them. He said he tried to put a stop to it, putting them in the bathroom and hoping they would die off.

"He said it was for personal use - crushing them and making capsules and microdosing daily to improve his mental health.

"Giles claimed he wasn't aware they were a class A drug."

The prosecutor said the potential street value was up to £9,660, and an expert had concluded it would last a user 14-and-a-half years based on daily microdosing.

The court heard police also found a stungun in his safe which looked like an 'old-style' mobile phone.

Giles, a 44-year-old dad of three, told police it had been brought to a party at his home about eight years earlier.

He said it had been 'passed around like a toy and saw sparks coming out of it'. It was then put away and rediscovered several years later, when he then put it in his safe as he did not want his children to get hold of it, said the prosecutor.

He pleaded guilty to producing a class A drug - known as psilocin and psilocybin - between September 1, 2020, and May 6, 2021.

I'm giving you this chance. I don't suspect you will ever be back here again..."

Giles, who now lives in Rectory Place in Hawkwood Lane, Chislehurst also admitted possessing a prohibited weapon.

But Judge Julian Smith said: "Why a talented, intelligent man, with a first-class honours degree, someone with many options and of his ability, should commit a criminal offence by growing a class A drug beggars belief.

"It is not stupid - it is asinine. It is not just a question of letting himself down. He put in peril all he holds most dear.

"I am sure I am telling him nothing that dark moments in the middle of the night haven't brought to the forefront of his mind.

"Had he decided to profit from this, then he would have been a drug dealer - not just a foolish and selfish man but a criminal of the worst kind."

Judge Smith then told Giles: "It doesn't take me to tell you how foolish you have been, and the risks you have taken in your life as an entrpreneur and a contributor to society are nothing compared to the foolish choice you made in deciding to do this

"It's a class A drug. Whatever advice your friend gave you about how it would help, it was advice to be ignored and rejected."

This was a great deal of a controlled substance you have managed to produce but more out of ignorance than a commercial motive.

"I'm giving you this chance. I don't suspect you will ever be back here again.

"Giles was ordered to pay court costs of £600 at £50 a month after defence counsel Alexander Upton said finances were 'stretched'."