Premises at Ramsbury featured in a court case that ended when seven men and one woman were jailed last week for a total of more than 45 years for their parts in the distribution of around £60 million worth of skunk, high-strength cannabis.

Bristol Crown Court was told that an industrial unit the gang leased on a farm at Whittonditch was found to contain equipment consistent with it being a drugs distribution centre.

On April 24 police stopped a van being driven by Stephen Docking on the M4 towards London and a search revealed 50 kilos of skunk with an estimated street value of £225,000.

The following day officers stopped a Transit van on an isolated farm near Wanborough being driven by Michael Woodage and a search revealed 226 kilos of cannabis skunk with a street value of over £1million.

The buildings on the Wanborough farm were protected by high-tech security systems and inside police found drugs-related items.

Ledgers were discovered linking the farm at Wanborough with the importation and distribution of approximately ten tonnes of skunk valued about £60million, the court was told.

David Barnes, 41 from Hungerford, Michael Woodage, 51 from Hampshire, and Christopher Wills, 29, from Bracknell, in Berks, were found guilty of conspiracy to supply class B drugs, following a six-week trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Another man, Stephen Docking, 45, from Kent, was found not guilty of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.

Five others, Nigel Hyland, 50, of Laburnum Road, Swindon, Franciscus Kattekamp, 38, from Holland, Alexander Post, 34, from Kent, Emma Stevens, 39 from Bracknell and Paul Atkins, 30, from Kent, pleaded guilty to their involvement.

The eight were sentenced as follows: Barnes 12 years; Woodage eight years; Wills seven; Hyland four years; Kattekamp three years; Post, Stevens and Atkins were each jailed for three years.