A CARETAKER of historic tunnels near Kinver has been jailed for allowing them to be used as a large scale and sophisticated cannabis factory.

Wayne Robinson was said to have been living in fear of reprisals from the criminals involved in the operation at Drakelow Tunnels, Worcester Crown Court was told.

The 48-year-old was found guilty by a jury of allowing the factory to be set up in an abandoned part of the tunnels in Kingsford Lane, Wolverley, and also pleaded guilty to having a shotgun and ammunition without the correct certificates.

Tim Sapwell, prosecuting, said the factory was uncovered in a police raid in November 2013.

It involved a sophisticated hydroponic set up and other expensive equipment with hundreds of mature plants capable of producing a crop worth up to £71,000.

There was further evidence of an earlier harvest and some smaller plants - indicating it was intended to be a large-scale commercial operation.

Electricity to power the factory had been abstracted from a business called Forest Logs operated by Robinson, Mr Sapwell said.

Robinson, who had been the caretaker of the tunnels since the 1990s, was paid £200 a month rent but there was no suggestion he was involved in any other part of the operation or received a cut, the court was told.

Mr Sapwell said Robinson had been mixing with "nasty people" because of the drugs operation.

Following his arrest - his dog was poisoned, bars were painted on the portable building he used for work, a man was arrested with a taser near the premises and a gunshot had been heard at the site.

When police searched his house they found a shotgun under a bed and machine gun ammunition in the loft - although there was no evidence he had tried to conceal it, Mr Sapwell said.

Abigail Nixon, defending, said Robinson, of Marlpool Lane, Kidderminster, was a respected businessman who had been "gullible" for allowing the operation to be in place for an estimated six months.

The factory was in an abandoned part of the tunnels, which stretch for some miles, away from the parts used by the public for activities such as ghost-hunting.

Miss Nixon said: "He shut his eyes to what was going on. He had no idea of the enterprise apart from the movement backwards and forwards of the men setting it up."

She said he and his partner had "lived in fear" of knocks at the door for the last three years and she added: "The police confirm the people they suspect of being involved would carry out their threats."

She said Robinson had a number of other guns properly licensed and had been taking steps to get the appropriate certificate for the shotgun, which had been given to him by a local farmer.

The NATO machine gun ammunition did not fit any of the guns he owned and he was keeping it because he had found it on site and he intended to include it as an exhibit in a wartime museum planned for the tunnels.

Judge Abbas Mithani, QC, said the cannabis factory had been a "carefully planned and professional operation" set up with great skill and experience to produce a substantial amount.

Drugs factories attracted "the worst type of criminal activity" which had resulted in the threats to Robinson when it became clear he might not want to co-operate, the judge said. Only a "swift and stiff" sentence was appropriate to deter others from becoming involved.

He gave Robinson a sentence of 14 months for the drugs offence with nine months for the shotgun and six months for the ammunition offences - to run concurrently.

The jailing of Robinson follows the sentencing of 42-year-old Jason Whiley, of Thorns Avenue, Quarry Bank, who at Hereford Crown Court in December 2015 was given a two-and-a-half year prison term after being found guilty of being concerned in the production of cannabis.

Detective Inspector John Cashion from West Mercia Police said the sentencing of Whiley and now Robinson concludes a "lengthy and complex investigation into the large-scale cultivation of cannabis at one of Britain's historic locations".

He added: "It was clear this was a sophisticated set-up, involving high-powered lamps and timers in order to provide an ideal artificial environment for the growth of cannabis for commercial purposes.

"It would have cost several thousand pounds to buy the equipment which was being used.

"I hope the sentences handed out by the courts leave people involved in this type of criminality in no doubt they will be made to face the consequences of their actions.

"The supply of illegal drugs is a matter which West Mercia Police takes very seriously; we will work tirelessly to catch those responsible and ensure they face justice