Two brothers caught growing cannabis in five homes have been ordered to pay back more than £200,000 of their ill-gotten gains.

Robert and Christopher Squires will both now have to sell their properties after being hit with the confiscation orders in court.

On May 18, 2011, both men were sent to prison for conspiring to produce cannabis.

Robert Squires, 51, of Powell Street, Heckmondwike, was jailed for four and a half years.

Christopher Squires, 47, of Cemetery Road, Heckmondwike, was jailed for five and a half years.

They had been arrested a year earlier after police searched nine addresses in Heckmondwike and Batley and discovered equipment being used in the production of cannabis at five of these. In total, police found more than 2,000 cannabis plants valued at about £350,000, along with about £30,000 in cash and £20,000 in premium bonds.

The searches took place in Cemetery Road, Powell Street and Longfield Road in Heckmondwike and Commonside in Batley.

At a hearing at Leeds Crown Court, the Squires brothers were given confiscation orders, meaning they will now have to return their illegally gained assets.

Robert Squires was ordered to pay back £87,834.16, and will have to sell his Powell Street property to do so.

Christopher Squires will have to pay back £125,215.65, including more than £13,000 of Premium Bonds that were cashed after his arrest.

He will also have to sell two properties, at Commonside and Powell Street, as well as his Toyota Rav4.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “As well as their significant sentences, the Squires will now also have to pay back the property that has been proven to have been gained through the pair's criminal activities. This kind of action proves that the police are not satisfied with people being put behind bars. Where criminals have been found to be living beyond their means through the profits of their crimes, we will pursue them through the courts.”