A police raid on a commercial-scale cannabis factory needed the help of firefighters to break open reinforced doors, a court heard.

Officers were thwarted by the “very securely locked” unit on the Park Farm Industrial Estate in Folkestone where there was a "sophisticated and vast" cultivation operation spread over two floors.

Once the doors had been cut open on July 28, police found 504 mature plants and 1,877 smaller ones, together with the necessary equipment and chemicals.

Also found hiding inside the building were "gardeners" Gezem Shabani, 46, and Alexksander Caushi, 31.

They were arrested and later pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of a class B drug.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the defendants, both Albanian nationals, played "significant" roles in an ongoing, large operation.

As to the size of the factory, prosecutor Peter Cruickshank said it was capable of producing commercial quantities of cannabis.

He told the sentencing hearing today: "The unit was described as very secure with a very secure lock on the outside.

"Police had to call the fire service to gain entry, which involved cutting the reinforced doors.

"Behind the doors was a 'cannabis factory'. It was described as having purpose-built rooms for the purpose of growing cannabis.

"It was over two floors and the areas were said to be vast. On the ground floor were large areas housing more mature plants and on the upper floor were further vast areas prepared for further cultivation with some seedlings also being grown there.

"The set-up was sophisticated. Electricity was being diverted and abstracted, it was extremely hot inside, and there was a storeroom for chemicals and equipment."

The defendants were said to be living in "pretty squalid" conditions at the unit.

Shabani, a construction worker who came to the UK illegally in a small boat in September last year, claimed he was homeless and jobless when he was offered £1,500 per month to tend to the plants.

He planned to use the money to pay off the £6,000 he paid to people-smugglers, as well as his daughter's £4,000 medical bills, said his barrister Kerry Waite.

Caushi, who was in the country legally on a Greek passport, claimed he was to be paid £50 a day.

But the court heard there was no evidence of any payment to either man.

John FitzGerald, defending Caushi, said he took up the illicit job offer when, after looking for legitimate work for three months without success, he realised "the streets were not paved with gold" as he had believed.

"Against his better judgement, he was driven down to Kent, installed in the premises and told what to do," added Mr FitzGerald.

Jailing each of them for 18 months, Recorder Amy Nicholson said although she accepted they had been "down on their luck", the drugs operation would not have been successful without their involvement.

"This was a commercial operation and you were both playing the important role of looking after and cultivating those plants," she told them.

Neither man has previous convictions and the court heard the prison sentence imposed meant Caushi would miss his wedding day later this month.