SIX men involved in a multi-million pound drugs plot based at a secluded Cumbrian mansion have been sent to prison for almost 40 years.

They were members of a criminal gang which was said to have turned the Grade II-listed Flass House into a massive cannabis factory.

Away from prying eyes in the picturesque village of Maulds Meaburn, near Penrith, the men assumed vital roles in a huge criminal enterprise.

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A police expert has estimated that during 13 months up to May, 2012, 263kg of cannabis could have been grown inside the mansion.

This could have had a street value of between £2.6 million and £5.26 million.

After a lengthy and painstaking Cumbria police investigation, six of eight gang members were sentenced today at Carlisle Crown Court.

They had admitted, or been convicted of, conspiracy to supply cannabis bush.

Sending the men to prison for a total of just over 39 years, Judge Paul Batty QC told them: "You selected this property carefully and with precision with this criminal enterprise in mind."

The men sentenced were: 
Dean Cameron, 53, Whitehall Park Road, London,who received eight years in prison
Charles Neophytou, 47, Hutton Grove, London, who was jailed for five-and-a-half years
Philip Branigan, 32, Hillside Close, Banstead, Surrey, got seven years behind bars
Mark Gallagher, 49, Wolverhampton Road East, Wolverhampton received four years for the Flass conspiracy and three years for other drugs offences
David Lawrence, 32, Barton Meadows, Ilford, was sentenced to eight years
Paul Davies, 64, Queens Road, Southport, received three years and eight months

Two other members of the cannabis gang will be sentenced at a later date.

They are Lee Banks, 32, Caversham Road, London, and Paul Whelan, 50, Winterthur Way, Basingstoke.