Chinese Wei Lin was arrested at the end of January after officers discovered the farm at the Derby Hotel, in Scotland Road.

Lin (27), of no fixed address, has admitted cultivating 2,000 cannabis plants between October 1st, 2007 and January 29th, 2008 when he appeared at Burnley Crown Court.

Allegations of abstracting electricity between the same dates and producing cannabis, which the defendant denied, were left to lie on the file.

Lin, who entered his pleas with the aid of a Mandarin-speaking interpreter, was described by prosecutor Roger Baldwin as the gardener in the operation. He said the defendant could face deportation, but Lin's barrister Robert Elias told the court the Chinese authorities were not keen on criminals being returned.

Lin, who has now been in custody 103 days, was remanded again until June 9th for reports. Judge Andrew Woolman warned him: "You must expect a custodial sentence."