Drakelow Tunnels: Men turned sprawling Cold War nuclear bunker into 'huge £650,000 cannabis farm'

Two men will appear at Worcester Crown Court accused of farming more than 400 cannabis plants with a combined street value of £650,000 ($1m) at the Drakelow Tunnels nuclear bunker near Kidderminster. Wayne Robinson, 39, of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, and Jason Whiley, 45, of Brierley Hill, West Midlands, were arrested in November 2013. The tunnels were built as an aircraft parts factory in World War II and later used as a regional government nuclear bunker during the Cold War.

Whiley pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of being concerned in the production of cannabis while Robinson denied permitting a premises to be used for producing a class B controlled drug and one count of acquiring or possessing criminal property. He also pleaded not guilty to possession of a shotgun without a licence, but admitted possessing ammunition without a certificate.

Opened in 1943 at a cost of £1m, Drakelow Tunnels is a former underground military complex beneath Kingsford Country Park, north of Kidderminster, Worcestershire. It covers 250,000 sq ft with a total length of around 3.5 miles. The site has managed to stay out of the hands of developers after opposition from local residents.