An Australian man has been arrested after ringing police to report his cannabis plants had been stolen.

And when they arrived at the Tennant Creek home of William Pointon, 61, in the Northern Territory, they discovered almost 70 plants, some standing at over a metre tall.

Pointon later pleaded guilty to charges of cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis.

Lawyer Noah Redmond said his client knew it was against law but was more concerned that under-age youths would be smoking the drug.

According to ABC, Redmond said: "The fact that he did call police on himself for cultivating cannabis is a very significant factor.

“Youths were attempting to steal his cannabis, and he had a view...that children are not capable of making decisions whether or not to smoke cannabis...so he called police to prevent them having access,” he added.

Judge Peter Barr said: "He must be given some credit for dobbing himself into police and for his motivation in doing so."

Pointon’s sentence will be decided and announced this week.