SOPHISTICATED equipment cap-able of producing £40,000 worth of cannabis was discovered behind the doors of a chicken farm, at Oakfordbridge, near Bampton.

Exeter Crown Court heard the "factory" was equipped with state-of the-art hydroponics powered by an oil generator which had been in-stalled at a cost of £8,000.

The whole operation was being run by Penelope Swainson who was ostensibly running a normal farm for her mother who had no knowledge of what was actually being cultivated there.

Prosecutor David Evans said the "cannabis farm" was unearthed in a police raid on the property at Black Aller Lane at Oakfordbridge last May.

The police raiding squad found a few chickens roaming around outside but they only provided an innocent looking front for what was hidden behind padlocked barn doors.

The barn housed the hydroponics units complete with lighting, fertilisers and plastic sheeting.

Officers found some 156 plant cuttings at various growth stages and forensic scientists later calculated that the crop obtainable was some 11 kilos with an estimated street value of between £14,000 and £59,000.

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