The canary did it

SMH

A 75-year-old Greek woman has been charged with drug offences after police in her sleepy island village spotted a small cannabis plant growing on her balcony.

Hariklia Griva, a widowed mother of four from Ayiassos, on the eastern Aegean Sea island of Lesvos, was arrested and charged with growing cannabis with the intent of trafficking in the drug.

She was released on bail.

The woman, whose late husband was a policeman, told police the 40-centimetre plant grew from a seed dropped by her pet canaries.

The birds live in a cage on the balcony overlooking a busy Ayiassos street - opposite the local police station.