Truro crown court heard that Robin and Frances Scott ran their family business through their 21-year old daughter, Sara, communicating with her from prison via telephone calls and coded messages.

The couple rented a neighbour's barn to continue cultivating marijuana plants after being arrested in 1995 for producing and distributing the drug from their Cornwall farm, at Crylla, near Liskeard.

According to the prosecutor, police estimate the factory produced over 22kg of drugs, worth around £88,000.

'Prime mover'

Judge David Ticehurst sentenced Robin Scott to a further two-and-a-half years in prison, and gave his wife and daughter community service orders.

Robin Scott, 49, pleaded guilty to being involved with the supply and production of cannabis.

The judge ordered that the sentence should run consecutively to the four-year jail term he imposed on Scott in December 1996.

He said it was clear that Scott, still in jail, had every intention to continue to break the law at the time that sentence was imposed.

"These offences were committed while you were in prison and organised and orchestrated by you from there. You were the prime mover in this enterprise," he said.

Neighbour fined

The prosecutor described him as a "bullying and dominating" character, who has an unhealthy influence over his family.

The judge said Mrs Scott, 49, also deserved to go to prison, but was being spared because of the effect it would have on her family.

The neighbour, Avis Roberts, 71, who rented the Scotts her barn at Scawn Barton Farm, near Liskeard, was fined £1,000 for allowing her premises to be used for the production of drugs.

The judge said her involvement had been more as a result of foolishness and the influence of others.

Captain's log

Police became aware that 75 plants were being commercially grown in her barn using sophisticated hydroponic methods in the summer of 1997.

They believed the operation was a replica of the one that featured in the 1996 trial of the Scotts, and went to their farm where they arrested Sally Scott.

They found an exercise book, with a cannabis leaf design on the cover, entitled, "Captain's Log Volume Two. Stardate 1st May, 1996. The Resurrection. To boldly grow where no man has grown before".

In it were detailed records of the plants and their harvest dates.