"Harry Potter" Actor Escapes Prison For Growing Pot; Gets Community Service

A Harry Potter actor has escaped being sent to prison after he was sentenced to community service Tuesday for growing cannabis inside his mother's home.

Jamie Waylett, who plays main villain Draco Malfoy's bully sidekick Vincent Crabbe, earlier had pleaded guilty to growing the illegal plants at a house in Kilburn.

He was arrested after police found photographs of the plants on his camera after he and a friend had taken some snaps of police officers from their car.

Before sentencing him to 120 hours of unpaid community work Judge Timothy Workman said: "Mr Waylett I accept that this cultivation of this cannabis was on a small scale, and this was not in any way a commercial venture on your part. Nevertheless you used a sophisticated growing system to do so - I give you credit for pleading guilty t the earliest it you're co-operation with the police and the fact that you are, until now, a man of good character."

As he left the court the young actor was apologetic for his actions. "I extend my sincere apologies to the producers the cast and crew and all at Warners and most especially to the Harry Potter fans."

Waylett and his friend John Innis, 20, were stopped by the police under the Terrorism Act in St John's Wood, London, after they took images of police officers.

Police found a lock-knife and 8 bags of cannabis inside the car which belonged to Innis - he was sentenced to six weeks custody in a young offenders' institution and fined $750.

The latest Harry Potter film, The Half-Blood Prince, grossed over $100 million worldwide on it's first day of release and is set to become the highest earning movie in the wizard franchise.