Priest's potty gift from God

A Bulgarian priest is to go under police surveillance - because of a field of cannabis he claims is a gift from God.

Father Cyril Papudov has been arrested seven times but police have never caught him actually cultivating the crop.

He claims the cannabis seeded by itself and is part of God's gift of nature and nothing to do with him.

One police source in Petrich told local media: "There has been a great deal of suspicion over the years about what is going on with these plants.

"He is a man of the cloth and so a lot of people don't want to think badly of him but frankly if someone has a huge crop of cannabis in their back garden it's highly unlikely they are just sitting there admiring its horticultural properties."

Now police are planning a 24-hour surveillance operation.

A police spokesman said: "Although the man involved is a member of the clergy we feel this surveillance is necessary.

"By keeping a watch on the plants we can make sure this is the case and put an end to any suspicions over the purpose of these plants once and for all."