Three men have been jailed after they were caught hiding in the basement at a large cannabis factory in Bradford.

Police arrested five men after breaking into a derelict commercial building on the city’s Thornton Road on February 27, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Andrew Stranex said it was a substantial cannabis grow with around 150 mature plants, and living quarters with beds and fridge freezers.

Nik Seray, 34, of Thornton Road, Bradford; Adriatik Vlashi, 29, also of Thornton Road; Petro Thanasi, 25, of High Town Road, London; Kostadin Enchev, 25, of no fixed address; and Marios Papadopoulis, 28, of Linceslade Grove, Loughton, Milton Keynes, all pleaded guilty to production of cannabis.

Mr Stranex said Papadopoulis had the keys to a Mercedes van found parked at the premises. He also admitted possession of a small amount of cocaine.

He had come to Bradford to cut the cannabis, the court was told.

The men had wallets, cash and identity cards and some had receipts from a shopping trip the previous day. They were not locked in the building, Mr Stranex said.

The court heard that none of them had any previous convictions.

Recorder Andrew Haslam QC said it was a very substantial operation capable of producing significant quantities of cannabis for commercial use. He was satisfied of that fact without any evidence available to show the yield of the plants.

Each of the men must have known of the scale of the operation at the premises but all of them performed a lesser role in it.

Seray said he was there for four weeks, watering and tending to the plants. He was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment.

Vlashi said he was a gardener at the property for about two months. He was also jailed for 11 months.

Enchev helped as a gardener for about a week. He was imprisoned for 9 months.

All three were Albanian nationals illegally in the country, the court was told.

Recorder Haslam said Thanasi and Papadopoulis played more limited roles. Both were legally in the United Kingdom from Greece and had gained employment and settled accommodation.

Thanasi said he had worked at the address for one day only. Papadopoulis, a delivery driver, said he was there that day to cut the cannabis plants. They were sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with 60 hours of unpaid work and a three-month electronically monitored curfew order.