A Sussex businessman invested in a conspiracy to grow industrial quantities of cannabis, a court has been told.

David Miles, 41, of Blackboys, near Uckfield, is charged with conspiring to produce cannabis and conspiring to supply the drug in a "sophisticated" operation.

A jury at Bournemouth Crown Court heard Miles had funded the venture, which included renting an industrial unit at £22,500 a year and paying for equipment needed to cultivate the drugs.

This included a series of rooms, specialist lighting, water tanks and an infra-red alarm system, the jury heard.

The court heard Miles had made his fortune after setting up Software Services Ltd at the end of the Eighties and had recently signed a £700,000 contract with the Post Office.

Jane Miller QC, prosecuting, said the gang would have had to invest a minimum of £50,000 in setting up the cannabis factory.

She said: "It was on a considerable scale to make a considerable profit."

The businessman stands accused with a detective constable, Michael Newson, 38, of Ashly Road, Poole. Both deny the charges.

Three other men, including Newson's brother Anthony - a former Metropolitan Police officer - Robert Fry and Mark Cooney, were said to be involved in the operation.

The scheme involved setting up a bogus computer business on an industrial estate in Poole, Dorset, the court was told.

Mrs Miller said when police raided the premises on April 27 last year, they found cannabis plants being grown hydroponically in a "sophisticated" operation.

The police raid followed a secret six-month surveillance operation, during which police videotaped numerous meetings.

The trial continues.