Two men involved in the running of a cannabis factory at a farm near Burton were said to have raked in more than £350,000 from the "sophisticated and professional" operation.

Ian Locke and Martin Young had been part of a two-year plot to cultivate cannabis plants in barns at the farm at Hoar Cross.

At hearings at Stafford Crown Court both men were subject to confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Martin Young has been ordered to pay back £15,000

Young, 52, who had been the tenant at Brackenhurst Farm, Newchurch, was said to have benefited by around £200,000 from the enterprise.

A crown court hearing in October heard he only had realisable assets of around £15,000 and was ordered to pay the money by the end of February next year or face a further period of imprisonment.

Ian Locke must pay £8,000

At Stafford Crown Court, Locke, 64, was made the subject of a confiscation order for almost £8,000 after it was said he was estimated to benefit from £154,000. He also must pay the money by February 28 or face a further prison sentence.

In January this year Young, of Farm Lodge Grove, Telford, was jailed for three years and two months, and Locke, of Pine Trees, Newport, for 27 months.

Both men had admitted being in possession of cannabis with intent to supply and being involved in the production of cannabis between January 2013 and March 2015.

The court had heard the farm was located in an "idyllic rural spot" on the A515 in Hoar Cross which was raided by police in March 2015.

The cannabis farm in Newchurch

Officers discovered a "sophisticated and professional" cannabis factory hidden behind huge bales of hay in rooms in three barns.

Hundreds of plants were found in various stages of growth capable of producing an estimated £280,000 worth of cannabis.

Police said the drugs operation had the potential of producing up to £1 million of cannabis in a year.